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List
Organizational Experience within the MSA-UMD (Include positions,responsibilities,
and accomplishments, please be specific, outlining in detail what you
individually did/accomplished):
When I arrived
at the University of Michigan in fall of 2007, I quickly bonded to the Muslim
Student Association. I expressed interest in joining and Shan Ali- Siddiqi
guided me through the whole process. My first accomplishment was assisting in
Islam Awareness Week. I was always by Shan’s side through every step; planning,
brainstorming ideas, and coordinating events. During that week it was very
insightful and a great learning experience.
List Work/Volunteer Experience (Include positions, responsibilities, and
accomplishments in other organizations on or off campus)
My other work
and volunteer experience is through the MSA and the ASU. I am part of the Arab
Student Union at the UMD campus. Even though I am a general member, I still
brainstorm many ideas about our dinner coming up, and other events we plan. In
the works is planning an event with other groups about the awareness of torture
in America. The MSA in the fall of 2007 had volunteer opportunities every month
and I have participated in one of those experiences. That day when helping in
downtown Detroit at a Mosque was very beneficial and uplifting experience.
Knowing that I am lending a helping hand to the unfortunate was fulfilling to my
deen as a Muslim.
What are your organizational strengths? Weaknesses?
My
other experiences can contribute to my organizational strengths. Being the vice
president of the Arab Student Union at Henry Ford Community College has taught
me skills of leadership. As the president was sometimes absent from meetings, I
had to pick up the duty of being president. Leading the meetings, voting for
certain ideas people had, and other important tasks was very important to how
well the organization was structured. Usually in the classroom I like to be 5-10
minutes early, because it makes me very comfortable and gives me a chance to get
organized and get ready and listen to the lecture. At work I always like to keep
a clean workspace, even though it will take extra work to keep a clean area. I
believe if there is a clean area, then the work gets done easier and better. I
believe though everyone has weaknesses. My weakness is brainstorming ideas. I do
brainstorm great ideas and some come into action some don’t but I don’t
brainstorm these ideas as fast as others. I believe if I do get chosen to become
public relations chair, this weakness will eventually disappear.
How do you cope and work under pressure? (Please answer in full
thoughts/sentences providing real-life examples/situations)
Working under pressure comes with just attending school. When I first attended
HFCC next door it was hard with all the deadlines of homework I had to follow as
a new student to college. However, attending UMD I noticed a big change. From a
college to a University is a big difference. I believe UMD has more challenging
work deadlines. I remember taking 17 credits that I used to take at HFCC but now
it’s hard to sometimes keep up with even 12 credit hours at UMD. Time management
is a key working under pressure. If you have a schedule to follow and manage
your time wisely, I believe working under pressure becomes easier. I do my best
and work as fast as I can but I like to get the job done in a timely and
organized manner. Working not only in pharmacy teaches me by reaching deadlines
for prescriptions but also in studying for exams while keeping up with homework.
How well do you multi task? (Please answer in full thoughts/sentences providing
real-life examples/situations)
Multi tasking is a specialty of mine. As having a flying background, it does
actually teach you a lot how to multitask. When landing a plane you have to
check so many things at once; your airspeed, keeping the plane straight, making
sure you give the plane enough gas, and keeping the plane level, and much more.
This requires full alertness and multitasking. Also in my life experiences by
attending college classes in high school was another great challenge. Balancing
high school work and exams and also balancing the college work load taught me
that time management is also key to multitasking. Working on weekends like I do
currently right now and becoming a leader in many clubs at UMD requires much
multitasking while attending classes and also studying for exams at UMD.
How do you deal with criticism? (Please answer in full thoughts/sentences
providing real-life examples/situations)
Criticism for some people can be very hard and personal but however for me, I
respect everyone’s opinions and is open to new ideas. I like to reason with
people and find the middle ground. Becoming elected for public relations at UMD
will require me to take a lot of criticism. I am very open to new creative ideas
and I like to improve things any way I can that won’t offend anyone in a
negative way. If improvements mean being hateful to anyone or anything that
could offend us as Muslims, I will reason and would not implement the idea.
What will your schedule look like in the 2008-2009 school year? How many
hours can you dedicate to the MSA if you are elected? List any external factors
such as parents, school, or work that might inhibit your work.
My
schedule would look like in 2008-2009 would be filled with science classes
mostly. Inchallah planning to go to pharmacy school will require me to take such
classes as physics, anatomy, and microbiology. I would dedicate as much time as
I can to the MSA per week. I could even work from home or outside of the MSA
office to advertise. My parents are not a factor; I mostly work, study for
exams, and catch up with class work on the weekends.
What does MSA mean to you? Why are you getting involved with MSA, other than
the fact that you were nominated?
MSA
means to me uniting the Ummah of the Dearborn community but also all Muslims All
Muslims in our school come from a different background. It may be from Lebanon,
Sudan, Pakistan, or Syria. Wherever you may be from, we are all united as
Muslims. MSA means to me becoming more in contact and closer to the Muslim
community as lending a helping hand or giving knowledge. I have been involved in
the MSA ever since I started UMD, not just because I was nominated for a
position. I was even nominated earlier before the elections for brotherhood,
however I though Public relations would be a better off position for me and I
would be stronger in that area.
What do you
feel the MSA executive board positions you are running for entails, and
why do you feel you are capable of holding such a position?
I
believe the position I am running for which is public relations involves a lot
of communication skills. Since I am a very outgoing person and love to interact
with all different kinds of people I believe I would be perfect for this
position. I believe meeting new people in the community will put UMD in the
front lines by giving back to the Muslim community through advertising and
educational events. It also involves a lot of dedication and patience to get
work done and fixing any errors that may come up during a time of pressure. I am
a very patient man and can work well under pressure so that’s why I believe that
this position is perfect for me.
What are the main reasons you want to be elected as an MSA executive board
member? Include future plans you have in respect to the position.
I believe if I
am elected in the MSA executive board I can take a more leading role not only in
the organization but also the community. As advertising I will be building
bridges with many different kinds of people, lending a helping hand, and also
breaking stereotypes that are affecting the Muslim community today. Future plans
in the group, I would love to give more ideas to have different kind of events
to build bridges between
the Christians and Jews. I believe if we educate the people that don’t know well
about Islam, it would be fulfilling to our deen and also as a leading
organization at UMD.
If
you lose the elections, what will your course of action be towards the
organization (please specify)?
If I lose the
elections to someone else, I will still be an active member in the MSA. I have
been a member ever since the fall 2007, so I don’t see why I wouldn’t still be a
active member. Most of my friends are in the MSA, and I try to come to as many
events that are held by the MSA as much as possible. I will still be able to
come to the
meetings, if my class schedule doesn’t interfere, and give great ideas for
events to be
held.
If you are elected, will your parent(s) be supportive of your work with the
organization?
My parents have
always have been supportive of me in my accomplishments. As being a part of the
organization, they may come to events off campus but not so much on campus. My
family comes from a Roman Catholic background not a Muslim background, so
basically that says I’m a convert.
What do you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of MSA-UMD?
The strengths
of MSA-UMD are being a very organized and strong group. There is a huge amount
of members in the MSA, and also UMD- MSA is part of MSA National which is very
important. Many educational events are held under the MSA banner that brings
awareness to the community. The weakness however is being unified with the Sunni
and Shi’a issue. I believe in my eyes that MSA should serve the needs of the TMA
also. The TMA’s needs to serve the MSA’s needs. I believe we should be one
unified group instead of being two separate groups.
Have you fully read & understood the constitution, have you specifically
understood your duties/responsibilities?
I have
fully understood the responsibilities I need to accomplish and also have been
spending time with the current Public Relation chair to see what the daily
activities are. I have fully read and understood the constitution.
How well do you work with others? Give an example of when you led a team and how
you delegated responsibilities and ensure team cohesiveness.
I work
well with others because it shows you can work as a team. I love helping people
and I don’t usually expect help from others but when it does come, I feel it is
actually better to work as a team then solo. I personally can’t say I actually
lead a team to victory or actually was president of any organization. However,
being Vice President of the ASU at HFCC was one taste of leadership as in
leading a team. I had to lead meetings, and plan out events that were coming up
like a dinner, and an educational stereotypical lecture.
Which
Islamic school of thought do you subscribe to, and what is your viewpoint in
regards to other schools of thought?
Truthfully, this question I can’t answer. I don’t have any specific school of
knowledge. I am a convert and I like to learn slowly and take things one step at
a time so I don’t associate myself with any school of knowledge as of yet.
However, one day I hope to study the schools of knowledge out there and find one
that I can actually claim
myself to one. As my perspectives on the schools of knowledge is that I feel
something’s can be questioned or addressed or may be too strict, but I am very
flexible and would try my best Inchallah to follow the rules in the school of
knowledge.
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