As a returning intern with the Citizen Justice Initiative, Laila hopes to continue pursuing her love for research in order to help others better understand the past and the present. In addition to her passion for photography and English, Laila is interested in the concept of colorism and the ways in which many people deal with internal racism in their everyday lives. Her ardent belief that history provides a context for what is unfolding in the present encourages her to research interesting topics such as this. She dreams of one day working as a magazine journalist or playing in the WNBA. Laila will spend the summer at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities where she will help connect Virginians to their history and culture.