Ask Mariam Bazzi how she’s grown into the leader she is today and she’ll draw heavily on her experiences in UM-Dearborn’s OpScholars program. Indeed, the merit-based scholarship awarded to students from under-resourced metro Detroit schools has been key to Bazzi’s pursuit of her own educational dreams; so much so, in fact, that she’s been inspired to spend much of her free time serving other students in the program.

During her tenure at UM-Dearborn, Bazzi has taken on numerous leadership roles within OpScholars, including a three-year stint on the group’s leadership advisory board. More recently, she took a risk she now considers one of her proudest achievements: successfully running for chair of the Program Engagement Committee. There, she’s organized numerous events for this tight-knit campus community, including many designed to give freshmen a chance to learn from upperclassmen.

Bazzi also has made her mark beyond OpScholars. This year, she served as a Cleveland site leader for Alternative Spring Break. And her program adviser and supervisor in the Office of Student Success, Tyler Guenette, considers her leadership critical to shaping many of the office’s key services.

“For example, last year, we asked her to be part of a pilot role in our office and serve as a student facilitator for a seminar,” Guenette said. “In that setting, her sense of humor and thoughtful commentary provoked a significant level of comfort among the participants and got them all to open up. It’s qualities like this that demonstrate her great potential to be a leader on campus.”