She attended the University of Pennsylvania as an undergrad where she studied linguistics with a focus on Semitic languages, Russian, and nonstandard English varieties. During her time as an undergraduate, Alysia became deeply interested in Islamic culture and the Qur’an and spent 7 months living in Egypt where she studied Arabic and Islamic art. She has traveled extensively across Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Turkey. In 2014, Alysia received her MFA in poetry from NYU and is currently a PhD candidate in linguistics at Yale University. Alysia sees her poems, which have received prestigious awards and appeared in multiple reviews, as engaging notions of spirituality, violence, and identity as a path towards reconciliation. On moving to New Haven, she became involved in Pathways to continue her engagement with the Muslim community, and in 2015 she joined Pathways staff as a Project Consultant.