Marwa Hachem is the first in her family to go to college. And she wants to be an example to show that even with unique circumstances, everyone deserves the opportunity to succeed — and can.

She is a representative of the Student Government who’s played an important role in gathering resources and creating opportunities for her fellow students. She’s also served as president of the Institute of Software Engineers.

Coming into college with a fascination for math, science and creativity, Marwa found a way to engage in these interests by studying software engineering and excelling — while still making time to help others. 

Marwa, in her own words

On how being a first-generation student is an identity. “Something I say a lot — it’s kind of like my slogan now — is that ‘being first gen is an identity.’ It’s part of who I am and part of who many other students are too. Your college experience as a first generation student is different from someone whose family has been to college. And I feel that’s something to be proud of. When you do the hard work without the aid that others might get and you succeed, it is such a rewarding feeling. It reminds you that anything is possible. That’s generally how I feel about my coursework. 

UM-Dearborn is a place where anyone can succeed if you work hard. It’s a comfortable place where I feel welcomed. I feel at home. I feel like anything I need is right here on campus.”

On being the change you want to see. “One thing that I’m proud of is being speaker of the Senate in Student Government. My whole role is to be the representative for students. A big project that I’m working on is making the library more resourceful for students — for example, I’ve helped bring graphing calculators to campus for library checkout because we know that students don’t always have financial resources for them and it’s something many students only use for one or two classes. I’ve seen how speaking up can create change. I advocate for students so they can have a good experience on campus.”

On thinking toward the future. “My dream job is to be a Software Developer at Google. And my UM-Dearborn experience is helping me build toward that. I’ve attended many career fairs and have made myself known to employers. I’ve also taken courses that give me experience. For example, I’ve taken a mobile app development course. In that course, I learned the actual ways apps are developed. Now I’m able to show employers that I know, through my UM-Dearborn course, how to make an app. I have the experience that they’re asking for.”