“Growing up, my father would always tell me that you have two hands: one for helping yourself, and the other one for helping others.”
This wisdom has helped guide Klisa Corbaxhi on her journey at UM-Dearborn. She has held roles as an orientation leader, student ambassador and teacher assistant, all of which allowed her to help her fellow students. During her junior year, she founded a new student organization: The Balkan American student organization, which helped immigrant students like herself embrace their unique culture, language and history. She also gained more leadership experience as the president of the Albanian American student organization. In the classroom, she challenged herself to take more rigorous courses and learned that she could help herself succeed by asking questions and not being afraid to tackle new problems. Here, she explains how helping others is her greatest reward.
Klisa, in her own words
On campus involvement. “I think it's important to be involved on campus because there's so many opportunities to help you grow, whether it is for your major or for your personal and professional growth. My first leadership experience at UM-Dearborn was being an orientation leader. I lead discussion groups with new students, acquainted new students with campus services and building locations and proctored placement exams. My favorite part of this leadership experience was being able to help incoming freshmen and transfer students feel welcome and give them the best experience they can have at this university.”
On future goals. “I'm a senior majoring in software engineering. I've always been very passionate about math and technology and my passion for this field has made me challenge myself into finding new solutions to complex problems. Computing is part of everything that we do nowadays. It drives innovation in engineering, sciences and business fields. I plan to pursue a Ph.D. in Machine Learning. Machine Learning gives you skills to use and shape today’s powerful and innovative technology for the benefit of humanity. Also, I have always enjoyed volunteering and giving back to my community, so I plan to start a nonprofit youth-led organization that helps immigrant families.”
On being a Difference Maker. “I think what makes me a Difference Maker is that I always strive to help other students develop their personal leadership and vision. I've always made sure to reach out to students to get them involved on campus, whether it’s through being a student ambassador or orientation keader or even a teacher assistant. Helping others with challenges greater than my own gave me a brief glimpse of a new perspective. I learned to be more compassionate and understanding and that empathy is a critical skill for me to have as a leader. Having the opportunity to help other students has been my most coveted reward.”