Today we’d like to introduce you to Rola Shehata.
Rola, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I’m a proud Jersey girl through and through, but Tennessee claims a bit of my heart with every day that passes. At Murfreesboro Muslim Youth, I’m currently the Youth Development Lead. I never imagined I would be in this role, and it certainly didn’t start out that way!
I moved to Tennessee from New Jersey in July 2020, during a time when the world essentially stopped. Those first few months were incredibly isolated- I hardly knew anyone at all other than my cat! I have volunteered at various nonprofits my whole adult life, so in an effort to find a human connection and work towards a common goal, I discovered the Murfreesboro Muslim Youth (MMY) through a google search. The founder, Abdou Kattih, drove all the way out from Murfreesboro to meet me in Brentwood for a coffee and chat. During our discussion, I mentioned how I had volunteered for the New Jersey region of a national high school tournament .I was surprised to find that MMY hosted the Murfreesboro team for the Tennessee region every year. Coaching a whole team at the time was definitely out of my scope, but I was incredibly impressed with the way MMY was heavily youth-run, so I began volunteering here and there at various back-to-school drives, food drives, teen activities, and cultural appreciation events.
In 2022, I was approached to be the head coach of the aforementioned MIST team. What a large undertaking that was – hosting information sessions, creating materials, and reviewing competition submissions for 3 months straight. It was utterly exhausting and I remember frequently thinking “I am NOT doing this next year.” When competition weekend came, it was an absolute blur of logistics to manage 30 teenagers and 6 other volunteers. Towards the end of the weekend, I was so relieved it was all going to be over (and I’d be free! Forever!!) when a girl came up to me and confessed “I made some new friends and I didn’t have any before this- I am so happy I could come”. And I thought, “Well how on earth could I walk away after a statement like that?” I’ve been firmly involved with MMY ever since.
My favorite moments happen after our major events- when the seniors who graduate come up to me on their own to ask if they can come help out next year, when the freshman show up to our volunteering initiatives, when we organize an event in the summer and teens come up to me to start discussing strategy for an event that’s over 8 months away, or when their younger siblings come up to me and tell me how excited they are to join events in the future. It’s in those particular moments I feel blessed to see and feel that our work matters.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Every field has its struggles, and youth empowerment is no different. A typical kid is already struggling with balancing out their home and school life, so we want the MMY to be a safe third space where they can come as they are. At the same time, we want our kids to develop and actively become the leaders our community needs in the future. Every planned activity works around 2 questions: “How can I empower them to take initiative?” and “How can I give them a safety net so they can fail and grow in a controlled environment?” That constant tug and pull can be almost impossible to balance sometimes.
Given the nature of our demographic, consistent engagement can be difficult to maintain. The circumstances of their lives are constantly changing. Even when you ask “What would you like to do?” & follow through to create an event, sometimes it can flop (and that’s okay!). I find the most success with events when the youth lead and I am just there to support and guide them through the process.
The additional struggle that we face is Islamophobia. According to The Islamophobia Index (which shows how much people believe negative and unfair stereotypes about Muslims), Islamophobia has increased significantly in 2025 compared to previous years. In the U.S., the overall score went up from 25 in 2022 to 33 in 2025. Unfortunately, we didn’t need a study to tell us that—the daily experiences of both our kids and leadership team have seen an increase in racial profiling and discrimination. It only shows just how important our community work really is.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I work in healthcare analytics as a data analyst, and I recently completed my Master of Business Administration in Business Analytics at the University of Hartford. I am motivated by the challenge to transform complex data into meaningful stories that inform and inspire action. While my field of work doesn’t necessarily relate to youth empowerment, I find a lot of overlap in the soft skills required to be successful in both domains.
On a typical day, I apply my analytical skills and business acumen to improve data-driven decision-making and deliver value to my organization. I have extensive experience in creating and presenting dashboards, reports, and insights that monitor key performance indicators, identify trends, and support strategic initiatives.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Through experience, I’ve become a person who believes that everything happens for a reason. Is it really luck or did your preparation allow you to succeed when an opportunity was presented to you?
There are many examples of this in my personal life, but even with MMY, I wouldn’t have looked for volunteer opportunities as far as Murfreesboro if there wasn’t a pandemic at the time. I wouldn’t have volunteered to be a coach if I weren’t already familiar with the tournament. I wouldn’t have accepted being a head coach if I hadn’t built up the skills to do so across the other MMY events.
Every success and every obstacle is just building “future you” up for an opportunity you haven’t seen yet.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.murfreesboromuslimyouth.org/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/murfreesboromuslimyouth/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MurfreesboroMuslimYouth
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rola-shehata/
- Other: https://chat.whatsapp.com/DDCjOR8SOA860M26d10jcv
