Naeemah Charles has built a bullet proof résumé that contains more internships and network connections in her field of study than the average college graduate, all by 18 years old.
Charles, a second year and political science major at San Francisco State University, grew up second oldest amongst her three siblings in Hayward, Calif. She said that her leadership characteristics came from her parent’s strong involvement and activism in their community.
She began her own exploration in politics early on as she would read her father’s book the Autobiography of Malcolm X, which opened her mind to the importance of human rights activism.
At the start of her freshmen year at SF State, she was quick to become an active member in the College Democrats at SF State, where in the same year, she became the club’s vice president of membership.
“I could see the potential that she had in her from the start, she was always willing to participate and organize our club’s involvement in community blood drives and volunteering at the local food bank,” said former College Democrats at SF State President Michael Guadamuz.
Within the same year Charles ran for SF State Associated Students sophomore representative and California College Democrats Northern California Regional Director –She won both titles.
She also had the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C three times this past year on behalf of different political organization that aid young people in the development of political knowledge and skills. But, the process to obtain her most recent trip this past July wasn’t easy. Charles wrote a series of five essays that won her the chance become 1 in 40 young adults chosen to travel to D.C and meet with Vice President of the United States Joe Biden.
This fall, Charles holds a new title as President of the College Democrats at SF State along with her current titles as Associated Students sophomore representative and California College Democrats Northern California Regional Director.
She currently spends a few days out of the week teaching high school women how to become involved in the political realm through a program called Ignite, which promotes political power in young women.
“I can see her as a senator or mayor,” said Ramon Gonzalez a sophomore and Associated Students Business Representative. “She’s a humanitarian and she will do anything to help her community.”