Hana Bakhit (MPP ’25) arrived for her first semester at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy “with an almost empty bag,” she says.

The Sudan native and her family were outside the country this spring when war broke out in her homeland. The family decided to not return to Sudan at that time – they ultimately lost their home and all their belongings.

She arrived in Charlottesville in August and, with support from the University of Virginia and the Batten School, has been thriving in her coursework.

Previously, Bakhit co-founded a nonprofit youth organization in Sudan and also worked for three years at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance. Last year she was a Mandela Washington Fellow in Washington D.C.

After she graduates from Batten, Bakhit wants to continue her studies in pursuit of designing, implementing and measuring the impact of policies.