Born and raised in Melbourne Beach on the East Coast of Central Florida, Esaa Mohammad Sabti Samarah is a first-generation Palestinian/British American looking to continue exploring his passion for social work research at the doctoral level. After graduating from the University of Florida with a degree in Sociology, Esaa worked as a Research Coordinator at the UF Institute for Child Health Policy before enrolling in the FSU MSW program part-time in 2016.

During the MSW program, Esaa worked full time as a Child Protective Investigator for the Department of Children and Families where he developed a passion for working with children and youth displaced by the child welfare system. Esaa completed his final practicum hours at the Child Advocacy Center in Gainesville conducting play therapy with children exposed to the child welfare system.

After graduating from the MSW program in 2019, Esaa moved to Atlanta with his partner where he completed a year-long seminary program in Islamic Sciences and Arabic Studies at the Madina Institute. This year, Esaa is back in Brevard county working in a self-contained classroom for middle school students with exceptional educational needs and differentiated learning abilities. Esaa will be returning to FSU in the fall to begin his Ph.D. in Social Work with research interests in child welfare, displacement, social policy, childhood/youth trauma, and victimization.