Her family had packed its bags to flee to America, with violence mounting and time dwindling. But Jude Aboukhater refused to embark on the exodus without her loyal honey-colored labrador, Roxy.

Aboukhater, MCAS ’20, grew up in Aleppo, Syria, alongside her older sister and twin brother. Growing up, she enjoyed all the trimmings of a quintessential childhood—when she wasn’t playing piano, taking on tennis, or volunteering in religious mentorship programs, Aboukhater and her siblings would watch sitcoms such as Friends or read the Harry Potter books.

“Hearing English and listening and reading the Arabic subtitles, that’s how English worked its way through our lives,” she said.

This initial exposure to English would prove to be instrumental when Aboukhater’s family was forced to relocate to Watertown, Mass., after the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War. Aboukhater was one of the fortunate few who holds United States citizenship—she was born in America, but her family returned to Aleppo when she was two months old. She credits this for her ability to enter the country in the midst of a stringent political climate.