She is the youngest of three siblings, all of whom have attended HPU as well. Her older brother, Ibrahim Shtayyeh, graduated from here in 2016, and her sister, Ninaru Shtayyeh, is graduating in May.

Shtayyeh is a rst-year student cur- rently majoring in psychology. She is also very passionate about dance, which she is hoping to minor in.

“I want to give troubled kids tech- niques to reach achievement that is unique and related to culture through dance therapy,” Shtayyeh explained.

For Shtayyeh, dance therapy is a form of art. “Art is you and your inner self. No one judges you and you can express your- self how you want,” she said.

Shtayyeh is involved in the HPU community with the Interfaith Club and the International Club. She also hopes to start a Dabkeh club on campus that incorporates Lebanese and Palestinian folklore into dance.

Shtayyeh sees HPU as more innova- tive than any other college, and she knew she wanted to attend from the start.

“ e idea of growth mindset is the main principle at HPU, and you notice your professors in your classroom using that same idea to apply to classroom ac- tivities,” said Shtayyeh.

Shtayyeh said that adjusting to her new life was easy because of the atmo- sphere at HPU, especially with the sup- port of others like her.

“In general, this sense of belonging is not available in the United States. How- ever, after attending HPU for a semester I can say that it is present here,” Shtayyeh noted. “ e Arab community at HPU re- ally helped me by giving me someone to always fall back on.”

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