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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):
-Unity
in Diversity Task Force: Helping in planning the 2009 Unity and Diversity, apart
of the Steering Committee.
List Work/Volunteer Experience (include positions, responsibilities
and accomplishments in other organizations on or off campus)
-Work:
Banana Republic Cashier
What are your organizational strengths? Weaknesses?
I’m good at prioritizing
and making sure the important things always get done first. I’m able to keep
everything in its place and I go about solving problems in a logical and
systematic way.
A weakness of mine has
always been time management, but recently I’ve gotten better at this. I’m good
at making schedules and meeting deadlines; I’ve learned how to schedule enough
time to do everything I need to in order for everything to get done on time.
How do you cope and work under pressure (please answer in full
thoughts/sentences providing real-life examples/situations)?
I find that in some cases,
I actually work better under pressure. For example, in one of my classes we were
given an entire semester to work on a group project, and I was appointed group
leader. Since there was so much time, I found when it came to decision-making I
was very relaxed about it because there was so much time to do the project.
However, as the deadline was quickly approaching, I found that I made better
decisions. I was aware there wasn’t a lot of time, therefore, there wasn’t a lot
of room for error, so everything that was being done had to be done very well. I
can deal with high pressure very well because despite the urgency, I’m able to
keep a clear and focused mind to make sure the task at hand gets accomplished.
How well do you multi task (please answer in full thoughts/sentences providing
real-life examples/situations)?
I’m very good at
multi-tasking. I realize that there simply isn’t enough time to take care of
everything all at once, so naturally, multiple things have to be going on at the
same time. For example, when I worked as a part of the student council in high
school, sometimes it would take forever to get approval for using a room. That
didn’t meant everything was paused until we got the confirmation. You would have
to send in the request for the room but still have to prepare a general layout
of where everything needed to go etc. A good way to multi-task is to list
everything that needs to be done, and then figure out an order in which all the
tasks can be carried out so that there isn’t a period of time where everyone is
standing around without anything to do.
How do you deal with criticism (please answer in full thoughts/sentences
providing real-life examples/situations)?
I can handle criticism very
well; in fact I am my own worst critic. I understand that not everybody is going
to like everything I do and every decision I make. Sometimes criticism is needed
because if there is a group consensus that something isn’t being done right, it
needs to be brought to attention so that the problem can be fixed and taken care
of. As long a criticism is constructive, and I’m told ways in which I can
improve what I’m doing wrong, I don’t mind it. I want to do the best job I can,
and if it means other people speaking up to point out the faults of what I’m
doing, then I’m willing to listen to what they have to say to help me out.
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.
I work part time at Banana
Republic and I will be taking 4 classes each semester next year. I think I will
still be able to dedicate a lot of time to the MSA. I will be taking more
difficult classes, but it’s nothing too hard to handle. As for work, I work
mostly on weekends, usually 4 hour shifts, so I still will have plenty of extra
time.
What does MSA mean to you? Why are you getting involved with MSA, other than the
fact that you were nominated?
MSA is a group of people
who really understand me. When it comes to non-Muslims, I do have friends that
are non-Muslim, but there is only so much that can be done with them. In their
spare time they take part in activities which we as Muslims are prohibited from,
and they don’t quite understand what is okay for us and what is not. With MSA,
there is no need to explain. Everyone knows what is allowed and what isn’t, and
they understand what it’s like to be a Muslim college student in America,
because they’re experiencing the same things you are. Also, as an organization,
everything that is done is done for the sake of Allah whether it be socials to
bring a sense of friendship, or halaqas to help educate others on our religion.
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’m running for Finance,
and a part of the job is to go out and get sponsors and donations. I think I
would be good at this because I’m a people person. You don’t get that impression
of me right off the bat, but working as a sales person at Banana Republic has
taught me how to be able to march up to someone and hold a conversation with
them. I know how to deal with people in a friendly manner and I’m also very
persuasive. In this economy, it’s tough to get people to buy things, but its my
job to help persuade them, so in the past few months I’ve definitely picked up
on how to persuade people. The obvious part of the job is keeping track of the
organization’s finances and expenses. Right now, I’m currently a Finance major
and an Accounting minor. I’m good with numbers and keeping track of expenses. In
my business classes, I’ve done very well, so while I may not have much
experience doing real-life booking keeping etc, I definitely have the knowledge.
I think being the Finance chair would be a good experience for me and it would
help me learn things I could use towards my career in the future.
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 want to be elected as an
executive board member because I have been a general body member for the past
year, and I want to be more involved with the organization. I think the Finance
position would be great for me because, as mentioned about, I am a Finance
major, and I think it would good experience to learn more about the field and
implement what I’ve learned so far. The plans I have for the organization, if I
get the position, would be to help raise money and take fund raising to a new
level.
If you lose the elections, what will your course of action be towards the
organization (please specify)?
I am currently not on
e-board, but I’m an active member of the organization. I attend meetings
regularly and give help where help is needed. If I lose the elections, I would
continue to do this. Just because you don’t have a position on board doesn’t
mean you still can’t help out and make a difference.
If you are elected, will your parent(s) be supportive of your work with the
organization?
I think they’ll be on the fence about it. One on hand they will be happy I’m
involved in helping Muslim student life on campus, but on the other, they
probably won’t be as happy that I won’t have as much free time to spend at home.
They wouldn’t ever stop me from working with the organization and would support
me, they would probably just voice their frustrations (of my lack of spare time)
every now and then.
What do you feel are the strengths and weaknesses of MSA-UMD?
I think the strengths of
MSA are that everyone who is involved with the organization feels a sense of
belonging to the group. Social events are a strength because it brings those
involved together to have fun. However, a weakness of the MSA is reaching out to
other people who aren’t as active in the organization. They haven’t found a way
to reach out to those Muslims on campus who don’t attend meetings and don’t
really know what’s going on with the organization.
Have you fully read & understood the constitution, have you specifically
understood your duties/responsibilities?
Yes.
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 very well with
others. An example of this is when I was a co-chair a talent show/fundraiser in
high school. We had to schedule auditions, keep in touch with the organization
which we were raising money for, get sponsors to help put on the event, etc.
What my co-chair and I did was create sub-committees for each thing that needed
to get done. We had a committee in charge of finding/auditioning students for
the show, we had a committee for fundraising, we had a committee for food and
decorations and so on. Each week, we had the head of the committees meet up and
update everyone else on what their committee had accomplished, and what their
next plan of action was. We made sure that if necessary, the proper committees
worked together to get a certain task accomplished, and overall, the planning
and event went off very well.
Which Islamic school of thought do you subscribe to, and what is you viewpoint
in regards to other schools of thought?
I am Sunni and Hanafi. As
far as other schools of thought, I don’t have any negative feelings towards
them. While there are a few subtle differences, there isn’t really a reason for
any animosity. At the end of the day, we are all Muslim and believe in Allah,
and that’s all that is important. |
