Trump’s America: The Class that Brought Me Peace | Jenna Rifai | TEDxValparaisoUniversity

For Syrian-Muslim Jenna Rifai, Trump’s rise to the presidency led to drastic consequences for her and her family. But after the election, Jenna enrolled in a class called Trump’s America and was surprised to find herself in a room surrounded by Trump supporters. Expecting them to be ignorant and prejudiced at first, Jenna gradually discovered that these people, whom she labeled as “Trump supporters”, actually had a lot to teach her. From these lessons, she urges us to look past the stereotypes and come together as human beings. Jenna is a junior at Valparaiso University. She is majoring in history with a minor in chemistry, while also being a scholar at Christ College. On campus, Jenna is a teaching assistant for chemistry and engages in theological research. Her research interests include Islamic thought on gender and religious scriptural interpretations. After college, Jenna plans to pursue graduate school in the religious studies. Jenna was born and raised in Valparaiso, Indiana with her four siblings. She’s very excited to speak at TedxValparaisoUniversity! This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx