#MeettheACLPTeam: Sakina Adamali

By: Amy Xiang

To say that Sakina Adamali understands the importance of culture is an understatement. The ACLP Future Scholars Program Lead Tutor was born and raised in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which she proudly calls her home, and she is the only Tanzanian in her class at Penn.

“I come from a very close-knit community. The Tanzanian culture is nurtured in a way where you respect your elders and the people around you, so that really shapes who I am as a person,” Sakina says. “I really value deep connections with people, and that has also influenced the career that I'm going into.”

Sakina is currently a sophomore and is planning on majoring in psychology, a subject that she is very passionate about. This is also reflected in Sakina’s extracurricular activities such as Penn Wellness Club and Active Minds Club, both of which are mental health-related. She is also a part of Muslim Students’ Association and volunteers with Civic House’s Community Engagement Program.

Although she does not have any set plans for after college, Sakina hopes to return to Tanzania and help raise awareness about mental health in youth communities as well as increase educational access to what she calls “conscious parenting.”

“I feel like [conscious parenting] is such an important aspect of life that a lot of times has been neglected, like what is the right way to parent your kids? That is essentially how we would create long-term changes in the behaviors of children, which is often connected to mental health and confidence,” Sakina says.

Outside of school, Sakina enjoys reading, creating art, exploring nature, meditating, and overall pursuing her passion of “helping people and creating a kinder community.”

Sakina was drawn to the position of lead tutor because of the opportunity to make a tangible difference in the Philadelphia community. She also emphasizes the importance of literacy and hopes to empower students who might not have the resources to develop these skills on their own.

And to our ACLP Future Scholars, Sakina shares some advice: “Your culture makes you very unique and you should be proud of yourself for not trying to fit in and just being confident in who you are.”

AMY XIANG is the writer for African Community Learning Program and a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, where she also writes for The Daily Pennsylvanian and 34th Street Magazine. To support African Community Learning Program’s work, please email info@weareaclp.org.