Originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Donya received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Legal Studies, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While at Wisconsin, Donya interned at the White House Domestic Policy Council and at the U.S. Department of Education. Between undergrad and starting law school, Donya served as a political appointee at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security under President Obama. Before working in the federal government, Donya worked in immigrant rights advocacy at the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

Att Michigan Law, Donya was the Academic Chair of the Muslim Law Students Association. She was also an Articles Editor of the Michigan Law Review, a Peer Tutor, served as Co-Managing Director of the Michigan Immigration and Labor Law Association, as Co-Chair of the Pro Bono Board and Nannes Committee, a member of the 1L Oral Advocacy Competition Board, Judging Chair of the Campbell Moot Court Board, and a Teaching Assistant for the 1L Legal Writing course. Donya was also an active member of Michigan Law’s clinics, having served as a student attorney in both the Unemployment Insurance Clinic and Civil-Criminal Litigation Clinic.

As a 1L, Donya won the law school’s 1L Oral Advocacy Competition and the 1L Pro Bono Award. As a 2L, Donya was recognized for her commitment to public interest and diversity as a Jenny Runkles Memorial Awardee, and also as a Michigan Muslim Bar Association Scholarship Awardee.

Donya spent her 1L summer as a summer associate and Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) scholar at Crowell & Moring. She spent her 2L summer at WilmerHale. She graduated from law school in December of 2019. Donya will be clerking for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, and then from 2021-2022  for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.