She was once a bustling academic student like many others at Niles North High School, but no one could have guessed Bushra Amiwala would be the first Generation Z person to ever hold office in the history of the United States.
During her time at Niles North, Amiwala was involved in a variety of different clubs and activities. She volunteered at five different nonprofit organizations, joined Dance Marathon, the We Help Others Club (WHO) and the debate team. By her sophomore year, she won the national debating championship at Harvard University. During her junior year of high school, Amiwala began showing interest in law and founded the school’s mock trial team.
“My time at Niles North really has shaped me into…the person I am today,” Amiwala said. “I took AP Government and Politics class my senior year of high school, and that was the bridge to this political space that I never even knew prior to that.”
After Amiwala graduated, she earned her undergraduate degree at DePaul University. She then studied at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University to earn a Master of Business Administration (MBA). Amiwala first ran for office when she was 19 years old.
“I ran for the Cook County Board of Commissioners against someone who had already been in that seat for 16 years,” Amiwala said. “Although I lost that first election, I got about 15,000 votes in my district, right here in the 13th district of Cook County, and the person I ran against is the person who encouraged and inspired me to run for public office again… I found myself running for office six months later.”
Amiwala then ran for the Skokie School District 73.5 Board of Education. She won her seat and became the first Gen Z person to ever hold office in the nation’s history. Today, Amiwala is running for Congress.
“The same things that inspired me to run for public office as a 19-year-old are the same things that inspire me eight years later today,” Amiwala said. “It’s the intent to make a positive difference in the community that I call home that has given me so much, whether it be through government or whether it be through the people and neighbors that live here.”
The heart of Amiwala’s campaign is her focus on positive policies for education and the cost of living.
“Overall, my goal is to make life slightly more livable than it is right now,” Amiwala said. “For everyday working people, that is the core of what I’m fighting for. Every single person in this country should have access to the care they need and deserve, and we’re the only modern country that doesn’t offer that…I see the way that parents and students are incredibly stressed about paying for college tuition…and then we find ourselves crippled in student debt immediately after graduation or the most terrible job functions our communities have seen.”
Amiwala stays connected to her community by visiting Niles West and North to give advice to high schoolers.
“Something that I tell high schoolers is that when you get involved, whatever you do, just do it consistently,” Amiwala said. “If you want to volunteer once a week for an hour on a Sunday, then consistently give an hour a week. Consistency is the name of the game.”
Amiwala often visits civics and government classes to speak about her journey as a Muslim woman in politics. Pankaj Sharma taught Amiwala in 2015 and 2016 in AP Government and Politics at Niles North and enjoys seeing her come back to inspire his classes.
“It’s really great as a teacher who had her in her class 10 years ago, to see that she’s still visible in our community, our schools and is always willing to give back and encourage younger students to get more involved with politics and civic organizations,” Sharma said.
Niles West history teacher Daniel Kosiba met Amiwala when he was the Muslim Student Association (MSA) sponsor at West. At the time, Amiwala was volunteering for a congressperson and was inspired by Kosiba’s human rights activism background.
“I really respect her policy ideas,” Kosiba said. “And I really respect what she stands for as a human being who is trying to look out for other human beings. I try to keep my personal identity things out of it when it comes to who I vote for because I want to pick someone who’s gonna be the best representative for the human race–And I think, in this case, Bushra probably is.”
