Farah Said immigrated to the United States from Cairo, Egypt, at 15 in 2008. She graduated high school with the highest honors in 2011. After being accepted into the education program at the City University of New York’s (CUNY) City College of New York (CCNY), and after finishing all credits for her childhood education major and taking all courses for her elementary mathematics concentration, she was harshly confronted with the reality that without qualifying for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival program (DACA), she was barred from student teaching and thereby from completing her degree. Said did not qualify for DACA because she had arrived in the United States a year later than the cut-off date. She switched gears on her dreams, graduating with an Interdisciplinary studies of arts and science major, concentrating in literary, media, and arts from the Center for Worker Education at CCNY in 2018. She obtained her MA certification in bilingual education from CCNY in June 2023 after the New York State Education Department released new guidance allowing undocumented students enrolled in education programs to do fieldwork, take State certification exams, and/or student teach in certain schools in New York State. Said works as a 4th-grade classroom teacher at a private school.