Sara Mraish-Demeter MC/MPA 2025 is on a mission to lift up children, especially kids facing challenges beyond their control. It’s an experience she lived herself growing up in a war-torn region of Jordan. “I had a rough childhood,” she said in a 2022 Boston Speaks Up podcast. Creating art gave her refuge and, years later, her professional calling.
At age 15, she immigrated to the United States. Learning English, adapting to a new culture, and advancing her education were not easy. In 2012, when her own children were students in the Boston Public School system, she was moved to found a nonprofit to help develop children’s creativity and resilience, especially those from marginalized communities. More than a decade later, her nonprofit ARCK Boston (Art Resource Collaborative for Kids) has reached more than 7,000 children and provided professional learning and coaching to teachers. Seeing students’ progress, she says, affirmed that arts in education could be a lifeline for many.”
Sara wanted to scale up her work, and felt that HKS’s unique intersection of policy, leadership, and innovation aligned with her goals. “I wanted to collaborate with leaders committed to social change and immerse myself in an environment where I could learn strategies to scale my impact, especially around equity in education. The opportunity to refine my vision, backed by policy and strategy, is what brought me here.”
Financial aid “was more than financial relief; it was an endorsement of my mission to democratize education.”
Thanks to the gifts of alumni and friends, Sara received financial aid—which was key to her ability to enroll. “It made it feasible to step away from my organization and focus on expanding my skills, knowing that I had the support to invest fully in my studies and aspirations,” she says. “The funding was more than financial relief; it was an endorsement of my mission to democratize education.”
HKS has given her the chance to engage with policymakers, innovators, and funders who share her vision for education reform. She says, “These connections and the credibility that comes with an HKS education are already opening doors to collaborations that could further my goals for educational equity on a global scale.”