On the one-year anniversary of her death, the School of International Service (SIS) community honors the life and legacy of Sarah Milgrim, SIS/MA ’23, whose life was tragically taken in an act of antisemitic violence on May 21, 2025, in Washington, DC.

Sarah’s commitment to peace and global understanding left a lasting impression on all who knew her.

“Commemorating the anniversary of a loved one’s passing is an important tradition in Judaism, offering a special opportunity to honor and reflect on their legacy,” said Jason Benkendorf, executive director of AU Hillel. “Sarah made an extraordinary impact in her all-too-short life and, one year out from her murder, I think it’s incumbent upon us to continue amplifying the values to which she so dedicated herself.”

Raised in Prairie Village, Kansas, Sarah graduated with her bachelor’s from the University of Kansas (KU) before coming to American University (AU) in 2021 to pursue a dual master's degree in International Affairs and Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, splitting her time between AU in Washington, DC, and the United Nations-affiliated University for Peace (UPEACE) in Costa Rica. A bright scholar with a passion for cross-cultural understanding and environmental justice, Sarah was drawn to AU for the program with UPEACE in Costa Rica and the ability to combine her passion for international affairs, peacebuilding, and the environment, said her mother, Nancy Milgrim. 

“Sarah was focused on trying to make the world a better place,” Nancy said. “She was focused on people of different cultures getting along and living together, and she believed one way to do that was through the environment. Different cultures have shared goals of how to take care of the environment, and she was hoping to be able to focus on the environment as a way to bring peace between people.”

Sarah developed an interest in the environment and a love for animals from a young age, growing up with “myriad pets” and a passion for rescuing animals, Nancy shared. As an undergraduate, she joined the KU Beekeeping Club and volunteered at Operation Wildlife—the largest publicly funded wildlife rescue in Kansas. 

Sarah was also a dedicated and active member of her Jewish community. She celebrated her bat mitzvah in Jerusalem, which spurred an interest in Jewish culture and Israel that would ultimately translate into peacebuilding and conflict resolution work during her time at AU.

As a 2022 recipient of the Mehdi Heravi Internship Award, Sarah traveled to Israel to work with Tech2Peace, an organization that brings Israelis and Palestinians together for technical training and dialogue. In 2023, she returned to work with Tech2Peace again—this time as part of her master’s thesis. Her work involved collecting interviews with Israeli and Palestinian program participants that highlighted the importance of building mutual understanding.

“[Sarah] really believed in the peacebuilding work the organization was doing and really believed that peace was possible,” Nancy said.

Reflecting on her experience with Tech2Peace, Sarah wrote at the conclusion of her research: “My dedication to service has proven undeterred by violence and [I aim to] continue to transform the region for the better.”

“Sarah Milgrim was an emerging force for good in the world,” said SIS professor Jesse Ribot. “She was dedicated to understanding and challenging injustice. And she did so with courage—critiquing Israel's policies while keeping her eyes on justice for Palestinians and for Israelis. Dedicated to and passionate about justice, Sarah perished into the very rift she was trying to bridge. Having met Sarah, I know she has been written as a deep force of hope into the lives of all who knew her. May she and all her hopes be inscribed in the Book of Life.”

After graduation, Sarah began working at the Israeli Embassy in DC, where her work “focused on marginalized communities and giving a voice to people who don't have a voice,” Nancy said. On the night she was killed by a gunman, Sarah was attending an event at the Capital Jewish Museum. Her boyfriend, Yaron Lischinsky, was also killed.

In the wake of this great tragedy and with the blessing of Sarah’s family, SIS has established the Sarah Milgrim Memorial Fund to honor and remember Sarah’s life and spirit. The fund will offer flexible support to SIS graduate students working at the intersection of environment, peace, conflict resolution, and related fields—whether through scholarships that reduce financial barriers or advanced study or internship awards that enable students to pursue meaningful, underfunded opportunities—areas of study and service that were central to Sarah’s work and close to her heart.

“Sarah's commitment to service, desire to connect across differences, and willingness to tackle hard problems exemplifies how so many SIS students and alumni seek to engage in the world,” said SIS interim dean Rachel Robinson. “The Sarah Milgrim Memorial Fund will not only celebrate her legacy but also help ensure current students can access experiences that help them in their journeys to make a difference in the world.”

Through this memorial fund, Sarah’s family hopes to carry forward the work she was passionate about by supporting the academic and professional pursuits of future students.

“We don't want people to forget about her, and we want people to remember her for the good person that she was,” Nancy said. “Sarah had opportunities—she did a study abroad in India when she was at KU, and then she was able to travel when she was in Costa Rica with AU—and those experiences helped her to be a more well-rounded person. We want other students to have those same opportunities that she had and to keep going with the kind of work she was doing.”

The Sarah Milgrim Memorial Fund is actively accepting contributions. If you would like to support future SIS students working in the areas Sarah cared about most, you can make a gift to the fund here.