Alumna Asiyah Ball '20 Visits Virtually with 6th Graders

Sixth graders in Ms. Ramsey’s Medieval History classes recently welcomed Asiyah Ball ’20 for a virtual visit, as part of their study of the historical foundations of Islam and its modern-day practice.

Asiyah’s visit gave students the chance to ask questions about and more fully understand the daily life of a practicing Muslim woman in America, following their reading of Amina’s Voice, a novel about a young Pakistani-American Muslim girl.

Asiyah, a freshman at George Washington University, discussed her time at AIS from 6th-12th grade, daily prayer and religious practices, her current study of the Arabic language, and life as a Muslim in the U.S. She shared about her journey of growth in self-confidence and maturity, and how these key elements helped her more fully embrace faith and practice. Asiyah also spoke about participating in Agnes Irwin’s Special Studies Program trip to Morocco in 2019, as well as how the intersection between her commitment to Islam and her love of fashionable clothing inspired the development of her brand and business, Covered Girl Chronicles.

Asiyah explored this connection between faith and fashion during her 2019 Personal Interest Project. The PIP empowers students to delve deeply into a topic of interest, then design a final project and share the results of their yearlong study. For Asiyah, this was an opportunity to reimagine modest clothing, and she drew on inspiration from her travels, traditional African fabrics and jewelry, and her family’s Ghanaian ancestry in order to create colorful outfits, stage photoshoots, and create a fashion blog for Muslim women.

Students eagerly embraced the opportunity and reflected on the experience in their thank you-notes.