Faith, Friendship, and Boba Tea: Seniors Share their Experience as Interfaith Fellows

By: Jennon Bell Hoffmann

When Saara Bidiwala (C’26) first applied to Georgetown, she wasn’t only looking at academics. She was thinking about faith.

“I remember thinking, ‘Oh, is there any sort of Muslim programming on campus? What’s the chaplaincy like?’—because I’m a practicing Muslim,” she said. What ultimately stayed with her was something both symbolic and concrete: “On Georgetown’s website, I remember reading how all of the chaplains’ offices are right next to each other, right in the main building. And I hoped I would get to see that in person one day.”

That physical closeness reflects a deeper reality at Georgetown, where interfaith engagement is not peripheral but central. For Saara and Claire Auslander (N’26), now leaders in the university’s Interfaith Engagement Team, that environment shaped their college experience—and their friendship.

Bonding Over Boba

Though active in their own respective faith communities—Saara is active in Muslim Life and has served on the Muslim Student Association (MSA) board, and Claire is active with Jewish Life and the Jewish Student Association (JSA)—the two women first met through the Campus Ministry Student Forum (CMSF), a student advisory council that supports Campus Ministry–affiliated student organizations. 

“Our friendship developed because we went out for boba afterwards,” Claire said. “We both felt very connected to our faith, passionate about healthcare, and had so much in common. It was an instant click.”

They share backgrounds in international schooling, French, and a passion for healthcare policy and justice advocacy. But faith remains central. Last year, Saara served as president of the CMSF, with Claire as vice president, before Claire stepped into the presidency this year. Now seniors, Saara and Claire continue their work together as part of the Interfaith Engagement Team, students who work as part of the Campus Ministry team to deepen faith community relationships and support the mission of a diverse, welcoming Georgetown community. While CMSF focuses largely on administrative support—financial appropriations, leadership training, and coordination—Interfaith Fellows (as they are informally known) focus more on becoming a space for new ideas for interfaith growth and support. 

“I’m very proud of the fact that we were able to start some new programs and be there for the interfaith community, especially when things were challenging on campus,” said Saara. “One thing that was really special about last year is we introduced more student one-on-one programming and relational programming, [such as] we started hosting community dinners and we restructured the retreats.”

Held at the Calcagnini Contemplative Center (CCC), the fall retreat is typically for student leaders, but the spring retreat is open to all undergraduates—and has grown dramatically in recent years. 

“We opened it to whoever wants to learn about interfaith work, meet new people who are like-minded, have a lot of open conversations because for a lot of folks, college is the first time they have that opportunity,” said Saara. “Last year, I don’t think we’ve ever had that many people at an interfaith retreat in CMSF history.”

When designing the spring retreat, the focus is on interfaith friendship and getting to know each other as people first and foremost. One of Claire’s favorite memories came from a moment of shared ritual. “I remember leading Havdalah, and there were around 10 of us from JSA who joined the retreat,” she said. “We got to share our traditions from home and had folks from all different communities participate. That connection was awesome.”

The weekend also included prayer and reflection led by other communities. “We did meditation led by our Buddhist Student Association (BuSA) and an Examen led by our Catholic community,” Claire recalled. “The room was full. It was beautiful.”

For Saara, one moment stands out vividly. “I pulled out my prayer mat and put my hijab on,” she said. “And I remember two girls pulled out prayer mats and were like, ‘Can we pray with you?’ And they just stood next to me as I recited. I was so touched by that moment.”

Outside of formal programming, the two also make a habit of attending one another’s services. “Claire and I will frequently go to other people’s religious services besides our own,” Saara said. “When else do you have access to so many religious spaces right in your own backyard?”

“I love sharing in each other’s traditions,” adds Claire.

Georgetown Memories That Last

As their time at Georgetown begins to wind down, Saara and Claire are reflective of all the ways their involvement with Campus Ministry—with MSA and JSA, with CMSF, and now as Interfaith Fellows—has shaped their overall experience of their Georgetown careers. Both women describe Campus Ministry as an unexpected center of their Georgetown lives. “I did not expect Campus Ministry to shape my college experience,” Claire said. “It’s one of the most meaningful and happy surprises.”

Saara agreed. “Because it’s a Jesuit school, Georgetown has such a respect for empowering faith communities on campus, not just Jesuit or Catholic. I don’t think I would have had the same opportunities to express and explore my Muslim faith if I hadn’t come to Georgetown,” says Saara. “The values that I’ve learned from my religion—love for others, care for your neighbor—are values that most of the time we share. We’re more alike than we are different.”

Claire echoed that sentiment. “My interfaith engagement has not only strengthened my relationship to Judaism, but also my commitment and my love for getting to know different folks and their stories and where they come from too.”

Saara agrees, underscoring how leading with humanity dovetails with the professional futures in healthcare she and Claire are preparing for. 

“I think genuinely our desire to serve people comes from our faith and to serve our broader interfaith community brought us into healthcare. It’s really valuable to take away that experience, to know the person first, and come from this place of understanding and inclusion.” 

Looking back, interfaith engagement is not just another extracurricular. “For me, the Jewish and interfaith community has been a refuge,” Claire said. “It’s where I can be myself.”

At Georgetown, that refuge is built not only through shared beliefs, but through shared meals, shared questions, shared prayer—and friendships that begin, sometimes, over boba.

Saara Bidiwala (C’26) is studying computer science on the pre-medical track, with an interest in how technology can complement healthcare.

Claire Auslander (N’26) is studying nursing, with a focus on reproductive health, health justice, and advocacy.

Jennon Bell Hoffmann is a freelance writer and editor living in Chicago.