As a second-generation Arab American immigrant, Mariamme Latif Estafan grew up in a highly competitive but homogenous academic environment in New Jersey. From elementary school through high school, Estafan, as one of only five people who were not white, felt she never found her space, herself, or her passions.
Still, from an early age, she was inspired by politics, immigration, and advocating for marginalized communities. That inspiration was rooted in her personal experiences with discrimination, as well as in observing how other immigrants were negatively treated or portrayed in the media.
Now, the George Mason University’s senior has channeled those experiences into a clear sense of purpose. This spring, she will graduate as a double major from the Schar School of Policy and Government’s government and international politics program and the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School’s conflict analysis and resolution program.
She also serves as an undergraduate research assistant at George Mason’s Institute for Immigration Research (IIR), a nonpartisan research institute that applies academic rigor to up-to-date data on national and international immigration issues.
For Estafan, working at the IIR felt like a calling. She says that she knew she “needed to do something” that reflected her own journey as a second-generation immigrant. It was at George Mason where her passions were finally acknowledged—and where she found her place.
George Mason “felt like it was going to be my home away from home, and it really did,” she said.
Estafan has worked at the IIR since June 2025. As someone who is trilingual (English, Arabic, and Spanish), she is a key staff member on Understanding the Contributions and Challenges among Fairfax County Residents, a student-driven, mixed-methods research project that aims to examine not only Fairfax County, Virginia’s residents’ positive economic contributions, skill sets, educational backgrounds, and community and civic engagement, but also the challenges that residents—particularly immigrants—face in the community.
Estafan has served as a translator, recruiter, interviewer, focus group facilitator, transcriber, and writer for the project. Working on the Fairfax County project enabled her to apply her “translation skills in real time, with real people,” she said, and build her capacity to serve as a legal translator.
The project also allowed her to pursue her passion for working with immigrants and refugees in the local community. When conducting one of her first interviews, Estafan recalled how it reminded her of her father’s immigration journey coming to the United States.
The experience reinforced the importance of collecting and disseminating the stories of immigrants, particularly related to the challenges immigrants in the United States face.
“Working on this project really made me feel like I am actually making some sort of change,” she said, “even if it is on an individual level.”
Estafan said she wishes more people understood that “immigrants, migrants, refugees, anyone that's fleeing and coming to the United States don’t have it easy and there are actual pressing concerns as to why they can’t stay in their country.”
She and her fellow student researchers hope that the stories collected from community residents will have an impact and lead to policy changes at the local—and perhaps even—at the state level to better support residents living in Fairfax County, the home county of George Mason.
Marissa Kiss is assistant director of the Institute for Immigration Research. Additional reporting by Buzz McClain/Schar School of Policy and Government.