Përpara

In Conversation with Enri Lala

Enri Lala is a fourth-year History & Global Studies major at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Born in Tirana, he immigrated to California at 11, and has called the state home since. Enri founded and serves as Chief Editor of Arbanon Magazine, a youth-led media platform focused on Albanian history and current events. In partnership with other young Albanian-Americans, he hopes to grow this into a multimedia enterprise, focused on stories from the community and beyond. With internship experience in the U. S. House of Representatives, Congressional campaigns, and international relations research, he plans to pursue a career of service in American national security and diplomacy. In our chat we talk about his take on the importance of internships, his goals for his future and the magazine, and how he strives to achieve that ever so elusive "work life balance".

In Conversation with Sam Sarelli

Sam Sarelli is a young, Albanian-American professional based in New York City. She graduated with her Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies from Trinity College, and is currently a paralegal at a Manhattan law firm with aspirations to attend law school soon. She has had internships in the legal, investment banking, and political fields, and was also Miss Connecticut Teen USA in 2020. Sam is also the Executive Director of a non-profit, Albanian American Association of Ulqin, where she gives back to members of her fellow Albanian community, and is also a human rights advocate, focusing on many anti-trafficking programs and initiatives throughout the U.S.  In our chat we talk about her dream of becoming an attorney, finding mentorship in the workplace, and advice for other students preparing for a possible path to law school.

In Conversation with Fortesa Latifi

Fortesa Latifi is a Los Angeles based, Albanian-American journalist, who has written for publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Teen Vogue. She obtained her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Arizona and her Master’s Degree in journalism from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. She has reported on a variety of topics, such as politics, disability, and children, which makes up a major part of her focus as a writer. She is currently working on a book about family vloggers and child influencers, set to be published by Simon & Schuster.  In this chat, we talk about how she got her foot in the door in journalism, how she uses her Albanian-bred work ethic to get ahead in a competitive field, and what it takes to profile celebrities like Demi Lovato and Selma Blair.

In Conversation with Suzanna Shkreli

Suzanna Shkreli is a first-generation Albanian-American highly accomplished attorney, who has forged a career in many areas, including public service, government, and politics. She is currently the Commissioner of the Michigan State Lottery, which aims to continue the Michigan Lottery’s success in funding education, with over $1.3 billion contributed to schools across the state in 2023 alone. Prior to this role, she worked as an attorney for over seven years in Macomb County in the Child Protection Unit, prosecuting crimes committed against children. In 2016, she became the youngest female candidate for American Congress, running for the 8th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, at just 29 years old. Since then, she’s worked as legal counsel for Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan’s Office of the Child Advocate, and the Director of Juvenile Justice Reform at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. As a proud alumna of Oakland University and Cooley Law School, Suzanna has used her law degree to help others and dedicate her career to public service, and she’s only just getting started! In this chat we talk about how her upbringing impacted her work ethic and personality, what it was like being the first Albanian woman running for Congress, and how she tries to balance a personal life with a very busy career.

In Conversation with Sania Vucetaj

Sania Vucetaj is a trail-blazing entrepreneur, business owner, and beauty expert. For over 25 years and counting, Sania has become the leading expert on eyebrow care, working with big names such as Rihanna, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Camila Cabello. She opened up her own brow salon in 2005, Sania’s Brow Bar, which now has locations throughout New York including Westchester and Manhattan, and offers premiere tweezing services for its clientele. She then started creating her own line of products, starting with an angled brush applicator (the first of its kind, which has been used by the likes of Cindy Crawford, Zendaya, and more), and expanding to scissors, tweezers, and brow shampoos. She has been featured in esteemed publications such as Vogue, The New York Times, Glamour, and Forbes, and will be celebrating her business’s 20-year anniversary this year!  In this chat, we talk about growing up in the Bronx as a first-generation daughter of Albanian immigrants, the unique story of how she got into brow work in the first place, and leaving her job at Bergdorf Goodman to set up her own business.