Originally from San Francisco, Alaina received her BA in History with minors in French and Arabic from George Washington University in 2022, graduating Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude. Her senior honors thesis explored the Jewish experience at the convergence of fascism and colonialism in Vichy French Algeria.
Alaina’s studies at GW sparked an interest in intercultural and multifaith engagement. In this vein, she interned at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, the Wilson Center, and the American Jewish Committee. Upon graduation, Alaina lived and worked at Sha'ar LaAdam - Bab L'ilInsan, an educational institute in the Lower Galilee that strives to facilitate Jewish-Arab coexistence.
At Columbia and the LSE, Alaina plans to specialize in French colonial and Jewish history. She is particularly interested in conducting a transnational study of the Dreyfus Affair, tracing how the scandal reverberated into French North Africa and influenced relations between Jewish and Muslim communities.
