Diya Abdo

Diya Abdo is the first daughter and granddaughter of Palestinian refugees to be born in their country of displacement, Jordan. Raised there, Diya received her undergraduate degree in English Language and Literature at Yarmouk University in the north of the country, a short car ride from Syria. She came to the U.S. as an International student in pursuit of a graduate degree and was a student at Drew University in NJ on Sept. 11th. A dedicated Americanist at the time, Diya’s professional and personal life trajectory were altered by the events of that day. She returned to Jordan and focused on Arab women writers and Arab and Islamic Feminisms. After a freedom of speech violation at her university in Jordan forced her to leave, Diya accepted a position in the English Department of Guilford College in Greensboro, NC in 2008. In 2015, moved by Pope Francis’ call on every parish to host a refugee family, she founded Every Campus A Refuge (ECAR) calling on every college and university to do the same. The flagship chapter at Guilford College, now one of several ECAR campuses, has hosted 80 refugees so far – 34 of them children – from Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Colombia, Ecuador, Afghanistan, and the DRC. Diya is the recipient of several national community engagement awards. Currently a full professor of English, she writes poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction. Her public essays focus on the intersection of gender, political identity, and vocation. She lives in Greensboro, NC with her partner, two daughters, and four cats.