What makes you a Difference Maker?

I am a Difference Maker because I try to be one. I think everyone is capable of bettering their communities and creating change, but you cannot always wait for opportunities to come to you. I have initiated changing and making a difference by having strong desires and ideas, then reaching out to others when I am unsure of how to carry them out. Leadership is not a solo process and it can never be achieved through solo desire. I reached out to the Office of Student Success to arrange an anti-gun violence rally in March 2018 because I found the shooting in Parkland, Florida, and many others like it, unbearable but I did not know how to handle a protest on my own. I chose to apply to the Supplemental Instruction leader program because I valued the skills the program taught me as a student and I wanted to be part of a team that brings success to students in this way. I was invited to join the organization Women in Learning and Leadership and made the decision to run for chair because the organization’s goals resonated so strongly with me. I do not think I’m unique in my efforts or have made particularly great contributions, but I do think my initiative seeking is something to be proud of.

Tell us about your leadership experience.

The most prominent form of my leadership, and the one which I am most proud of, is my work as chair of the student organization Women in Learning and Leadership. Our organization puts in year long efforts to better the campus community of UM-Dearborn as well as the greater community outside of it by speaking up of social justice issues and volunteering our time and efforts where we see that help is needed. This semester alone, we organized two blood drives, a winter necessities drive, social media equal pay day campaign, a women’s prison pen pal exchange, and a panel on the Women’s Movement. I feel so grateful for being able to help the community because, while we face the effects of a life changing pandemic and political turmoil, altruism and lending a hand is what will get us through to the other side. Asides from my work with WILL, I have also been a Supplemental Instruction Leader and assisted with Psych 101, Psych 440, Anthro 101, Bio 130, and Bio 140. I have also had the eye-opening experience of having an internship at a Youth Assistance Program in Westland and seen the ways in which community support can be the difference a person needs to change their life for the better. Lastly, I also do my best to annually help with my local masjid’s competitions for children by teaching material to the kids, volunteering my time the day of the events, or grading tests.

What is your dream career or goal?

After graduating from University of Michigan-Dearborn this semester, I plan to apply to medical school and hope to eventually work as a psychiatrist within the field. I want to be part of a career and position in my life in which I am actively making efforts to help people feel understood and give them the tools they need to succeed in life and also feel capable of success. Medicine is a helping field not because it is the solution that people need but because it is a part of their solution and provides them options. I hope to use my degree in Behavioral Sciences and my minor in Women's and Gender Studies to highlight inequalities in the field and gives voices to the marginalized.

What is your most defining moment?

When I first joined UM-Dearborn as a freshman, I did not think I could contribute to the community in any major way, despite the multiple opportunities and programs available on campus. And it is likely that I would have retained this idea had I not stepped up to take action in February 2018 following the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. Up until this point, my activism and vocalization of the issues I cared about were limited to the ears of my close social circles. However, the shooting was so horrifying that I wanted to take a public stand about the issue and publicly show support for anti-gun violence. Lost on how to go about this, I contacted the Office of Student Success and expressed wanting to organize a protest on campus to coincide with The Women’s March nationwide school walkout. I was given the contact information of a student who was organizing a similar rally in Detroit and together we met with Amy Finley and others. On Wednesday, March 17th 2018 the #Enough Walkout was held throughout campus and despite classes in session, despite the frigid cold, people showed up and expressed the same sentiments I had. While I am proud to say I’ve engaged in multiple other forms of activism since then, it was this day that taught me the influence I hold and the potential I have.