Dawood Al Nabhani traveled more than 7,000 from his home in Oman to attend University of Michigan-Dearborn. And when he arrived, he was ready to share a bit of his home life with his new classmates. 

As president of the Omani Students Association, he has led an organization of 50 students in sharing their culture with others on campus.

“UM-Dearborn is a diverse place; there are many people from different cultures, and each of them reflects their culture on the campus,” Dawood said. “My mission is to lead all of the Omanis to show our country to the American society in the best way.”

When local students came together with Omani students to celebrate Omani’s National Day, Dawood knew his mission was a success.

“They all contributed in the success of the event because we built a strong bond between the Omanis and other students at UM-Dearborn,” he said.

When he’s not leading the Omani Students Association, Dawood finds plenty of other opportunities to grow both personally and academically on campus. He is a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success, Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society and was awarded University Honors.

Scott Riggs, ESL program coordinator, said Dawood even has made promotional videos in Arabic for the university. “I think he has really matured [during his time on campus],” he said. “I am proud of him.”

After graduation, Dawood said he would like to return to Oman to work as a mechanical and manufacturing engineer in an automotive factory.

“I want to apply all the knowledge and experience I have gained from studying at UM-Dearborn,” he said, and, someday, “build my own car in the factory where I’ll work.”