Zuviriya Anarwala Builds Community Through Arabic Education
Zuviriya Anarwala is a student in Northwestern University’s Master of Science in Education program, with a concentration in Secondary Teaching - English in the School of Education and Social Policy.
Zuviriya Anarwala may be preparing to teach English, but that is just one of six languages she speaks. A self-described “lover of languages,” Anarwala also speaks Gujarati (her native language), Hindi, Urdu, Turkish, and Arabic. Last year, she found a way to turn this passion into a meaningful way to give back.
Anarwala is the founder of Rumaan Academy, an organization that teaches women how to read Arabic. For Anarwala, selecting the name “Rumaan,” which means “pomegranate” in Arabic, was personally significant.
“Pomegranates are mentioned in the Quran, and this is significant because several grammatical rules in the Arabic language are derived from the Quran.” Anarwala said. “Also, the word ‘anar’ in my last name means pomegranate. I wanted the name I chose to be something that could connect with me, my family, and my roots.”
In November 2024, Anarwala was accepted into The Luminate Program through The Garage, which “creates a space for first-generation and lower-income students at Northwestern University to explore entrepreneurship.” Through Luminate, she transitioned Rumaan Academy’s online presence from a simple Google Form into a fully functioning website—and gained essential knowledge on how to run a business.
"Luminate helped me think big and learn things about startups that would otherwise take a long time to learn through trial and error,” she said. “Brylan Donaldson's expertise, as well as the other founders’ ideas, pushed me to think in different ways.”
Anarwala will continue to hone her entrepreneurial skills in The Garage’s Jumpstart Program this summer.
While Anarwala continues to grow as a leader, Rumaan Academy is also expanding. Currently an online program, Anarwala plans to start offering in-person sessions, a response to growing interest and demand.
While Anarwala’s immediate plan after graduation is to become an high school English teacher at Niles West High School, her long-term goal is to move into educational policy.
“I want to change students’ futures,” she said with conviction. “I want to do something big.”