Nadia grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, a city she loves for many reasons, including that driving from one end to the other takes just 25 minutes. While attending the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Nadia earned her BA in International Studies with concentrations in Business Management and Middle Eastern Studies. When she was a student, she studied Arabic abroad in the occupied Palestinian Territories, Jordan, and at the Critical Language Scholarship's institute in Rabat, Morocco. She also spent time studying politics, religion, and economics in Turkey. During her travels, she was inspired by entrepreneurs who managed to create opportunity out of nothing, like a woman she met selling flowers on a street in Rabat's old city. Instead of begging alongside Morocco's large homeless population, this woman took control of her own destiny and runs her own business. Nadia would like to help others do the same. After graduating from UNO, Nadia began managing accounts receivable for a Halal certifier in the US which approves meat and poultry producers to export to the Middle East. She looks forward to shifting her focus to empowering individuals during her Kiva Fellowship. After her fellowship, she plans to pursue a master’s degree. In her downtime, she is an avid runner, reader, and country line dancer.