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1. List
Organizational Experience within the MSA-UMD (Include positions,
responsibilities, and accomplishments, please be specific, outlining in detail
what you individually did/accomplished):
Although I haven’t chaired any events this year, I was actively involved in
Islam Awareness Week and volunteered at the annual Unity Dinner. I helped out
with setting up prior to the event, served food, and stuck around as long as I
could to help clean up for the dinner; as for IAW, I designed and put together
the myth/fact flyers that were posted around campus that week, tabled during the
Calligraphy Challenge, and helped inform the winners and deliver their prizes to
them.
2.
List Work/Volunteer Experience (Include positions, responsibilities, and
accomplishments in other organizations on or off campus)
I am currently the secretary for Amnesty International-UMD here on campus, a
position that really came to me by chance more than anything else. I am
responsible for taking minutes at all general body and board meetings and
emailing them out to the general body and board (respectively).
I was elected the sisters’ public relations officer as a sophomore for our MSA
at my high school. As Public Relations, I was largely responsible for
publicizing our events to the general school body through flyers, contacting
teachers to offer extra credit to their students for attendance, emails, etc, as
well as recruiting new members. The next two years I was elected secretary for
the same organization. I was also secretary for two years of the youth group at
our local mosque in Canton: YMFA (Young Muslims for Faith and Action). As a
“double secretary” for two years for two groups very similar in structure, my
responsibilities were the same: take minutes at all meetings and email them to
the appropriate mailing lists, keep track of membership dues, meeting
attendance, and event reports. In addition to these two organizations in the
past, I was also a “leader” for the Diversity Council as a senior in high
school. We didn’t have a board per se, but rather a small group of people who
had been part of the group long enough to know what it takes to plan our annual
show, which was one of the school’s biggest events.
I also babysit, and have been doing so on an as-needed basis for the last 2
years for various groups at my masjid as well as for family friends and
relatives. I think babysitting is pretty self-explanatory in terms of
responsibilities…
3.
What are your organizational strengths? Weaknesses?
I’ve always been a really organized person for some reason, which is
probably why I was elected secretary two years in a row. I usually can recall
dates for things off the top of my head, but I always use a planner to keep
track of things, just in case. As for weaknesses, I’m a bit of a perfectionist
and although it doesn’t take me longer to get something done, I tend to take
everything upon myself. It’s a quality I’ve been working on, and alhumdulillah
I’m less of a control freak now...but there’s always room for improvement!
4.
How do you cope and work under pressure? (Please answer in full
thoughts/sentences providing real-life examples/situations)
I’ve found that I actually work much better under pressure as opposed to if I
have a lot of time. Last year while planning dates for our annual youth dinner,
there were some problems with the dates and the final date was decided a month
prior to the dinner. I was the chair for this dinner, but even during ‘crunch
time’ I was able to delegate the tasks and organize everything smoothly and in
time, and alhumdulillah, the dinner went off without any major problems. I know
there were many other similar instances when we were in a time crunch to plan
events, but I think if you think with a calm, clear head it makes it easier for
everyone to do what needs to be done in order for everything to run effectively.
5.
How well do you multi task? (Please answer in full thoughts/sentences
providing real-life examples/situations)
I’m a professional multi-tasker! Just kidding, but I really don’t find it
that stressful to deal with a lot of things at the same time, I suppose because
I’m so used to it. I just have to create a schedule in my head of what to do,
when to do it, and which order to do it in, and everything is spiffy.
6.
How do you deal with criticism? (Please answer in full thoughts/sentences
providing real-life examples/situations)
I’m always looking for ways to improve myself and whatever I put my time
into. Some people shy away from criticism and take it personally, but I’ve come
to learn through experience that when you are given criticism, the best thing to
do is put it to good use by learning from it and implementing it next time.
After every event for MSA or YMFA, we would have recap meetings to discuss the
positives and negatives of the event; the positives were obviously welcome, and
the negatives were always made note of for future reference, and it really
helped us to improve events for coming years. Nobody is perfect, and
constructive criticism is an excellent way to improve ourselves and also help
our peers improve themselves at the same time.
7.
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 next year won’t be too heavy, just the normal 12-14 credits. I’m
currently on board for Amnesty International and plan on being so next year as
well, but I know that won’t affect my ability to dedicate time to MSA. My
parents understand that I am busy and have no problem with me having to be away
from home. As of right now I’m not working, but I plan on working through the
summer and onward. However, I’m the type of person that enjoys keeping busy, so
I know that even with a full schedule I will still be able to fulfill my duties
as an e-board member inshAllah.
8.
What does MSA mean to you? Why are you getting involved with MSA, other
than the fact that you were nominated?
MSA is more than just an organization to me, it’s a means to fulfill a higher
purpose. I’ve been involved in some form of an MSA since high school for
multiple reasons, but the main reason I continued in college is that I really
feel like it’s helped me get closer to my deen, and I want to share that with
people. Most other organizations and clubs are formed because of a common
interest in something, whether it’s art or books or community service; MSA
unites us at the root of our existence—our religion. It’s a great way to spread
our message to our community and, in doing so, help us better understand exactly
what that message is.
9.
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 have been observing what our current On-Campus Sisterhood Coordinator, and I
feel that I’m capable of fulfilling the duties of this position. It demands an
individual who is sociable, hardworking, dedicated, and outgoing. I realize that
being a freshman, I don’t know as many people around campus as my older sisters,
but I don’t feel that would be something that would limit me in bringing people
to MSA—I talk to everyone. I’ve organized countless events and am familiar with
the logistics and planning, so I know inshAllah that I would have no problem
putting together the monthly socials and collaborating with the SAO and SAB, the
former of which I’m already familiar with. I’m all about volunteering and
community service and I love meeting new people, so the duties for this position
wouldn’t be work for me, it would almost be as if I’m just doing what I like to
do.
10.
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.
Although it seems like I’ve done some things this year with MSA, I feel like
it’s not enough. I want to do more, and it seems to me that the best way to get
more involved in presenting and getting closer to our deen is to become an
e-board member so I can do it myself as well as bring others in at the same time
inshAllah. At this time I don’t know who else is running, so I can’t say that
I’m the best person for the job, but I do know that I would be good at it if I
were elected. As far as future plans go, I would like to see more diverse
activities at the monthly socials so we can draw in a larger crowd and basically
lead to more of my favorite thing…bonding! I didn’t hear much about most of our
community service events, so I think that is one thing I would make more known
to the general body. Volunteering is an amazing experience, and I hope to also
create diversity with our community service events and what we do; perhaps
change it up every month and try some new activities.
11.
If you lose the elections, what will your course of action be towards the
organization (please specify)?
I will always be an active member inshAllah. I don’t do it for the label, I do
it because I want to.
12.
If you are elected, will your parent(s) be supportive of your work with
the organization?
My parents have watched me grow with experience all through high school and
understand completely the time commitment required of a board member, so I can
confidently say they would have no issue with my work and would be supportive of
it.
13.
What do you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of MSA-UMD?
The first thing I noticed when I joined the MSA at the beginning of this year
was the closeness that everyone had with each other. In order for a group to
spread a message, we have to actually BE a group, and maybe it’s just my
emotional side, but MSA feels more like a family.
One of the other things I noticed when I joined MSA was that, for having a %15
Muslim student population on campus, there aren’t very many people actively
involved, especially considering that there are numerous ways to do so.
14.
Have you fully read & understood the constitution, have you specifically
understood your duties/responsibilities?
Yep.
15.
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, and I work equally as well on my own, but I’m usually
pretty good at getting other people to pull their share of the weight. Last year
I was the chair for our annual youth dinner, and was therefore in charge of
keeping up with each committee—food, publicity, program, etc. We had separate
meetings to plan and give our updates, and I made sure to constantly keep
checking to make sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to and to give
help where it was needed. When the big day came, I ended up being a mediator to
two of the committee heads so that our team of organizers could function
effectively and work together.
16.
Which Islamic school of thought do you subscribe to, and what is
your viewpoint in regards to other schools of thought?
When I was young, I asked my parents if we were Sunni or Shiaa after learning
about them in Sunday School—they simply told me I was Muslim, so I didn’t even
know I was Sunni until I was almost 13. I respect other schools of thought, but
when it comes to it, we’re all just Muslim. |
