Political Science Instructor

Class of 2008 | Public Relations and Political Science
SGA Director of Communication

How did your involvement as a student leader contribute to your current career success?

Working with SGA helped develop my skills in working in a large bureaucratic institution. My work with SGA provided me important experience with working with people in different positions across the University from students to administrators. SGA helped me be comfortable working in a very public position and also how to be a safeguard of the people's trust. Working with SGA also allowed me to engage in real-world politics that had an impact on my school and directly impacted my life and the life of other students. My public speaking skills were enhanced in my time with SGA because I was provided many opportunities to public speak. Overall SGA helped me gain many of the skills that helped me get the job I have now. I learned how to network how to compromise and so so much more. SGA is a great experience for any student and I recommend it to all.

Assistant Secretary
Secretariat of Veterans & Defense Affairs/Office of the Governor

Class of 2010 | Political Science
SGA Student Senator and President
VCU Young Democrats

How did your involvement as a student leader contribute to your current career success?

Being a part of both the VCU SGA Student Body Senate and the VCU Young Democrats were significant to my journey and career development. As a student leader in both organizations, you are immersed in opportunities to connect with the people, places, and issues that matter and attract other like-minded people. An influential principle of leadership growth and development is knowing that leaders never stop growing and never stop developing. I learned this initially as a Boy Scout and grew in my desire to be a leader at VCU. Principles and tenets of leadership are similar across industries and are at the core of military leadership doctrines. I posit that VCU SGA and VCUYDs are the organizations where I was afforded the opportunity to learn to lead others and lead on issues. This enabled me to be a successful junior officer in the United States Army and a Virginia National Guard. The Leadership development and growth in both VCU Student Orgs and the Army are what fuel my desire to lead on issues, solve problems, and help our fellow citizens. They are what motivate me to show up to work each day.

President
COLAB

Class of 2006 | Political Science
SGA President
SGA Vice President
SGA Student Senator

How did your involvement as a student leader contribute to your current career success?

SGA and especially leadership positions in SGA had a profound impact on me both personally and professionally. I struggled through my first few years at VCU. I had trouble academically and felt aimless. It was very different than what I expected college to be like. When I joined the Student Senate, I quickly realized that, if taken seriously, you can make a big difference. I was heavily involved in creating and passing legislation and started spending more time with other SGA members who felt the same way. This eventually led to me becoming Vice President and then Student Body President. I clearly remember realizing, after my election, that I had to give a speech to the entire incoming freshman class. At that point, I was still struggling to confidently speak in front of a small class. I was incredibly scared, I did it, and it was fine. That was a defining moment for me. From there was passed tons of legislation, changed the VCU diploma, dealt with tragedy, advocated for campus safety and lower book prices, and much more. All these things helped prepare me for the business world. SGA leadership requires confidence, public speaking, negotiation, management skills, compromise, critical thinking, and a great deal of problem-solving. I would encourage anyone to consider SGA leadership. I can't think of a more diverse, encouraging, and fulfilling group of people.

Department of Defense

Class of 2012 | Political Science
SGA Vice President

How did your involvement as a student leader contribute to your current career success?

Public service has been the hallmark of my life ever since 4th grade, serving as student treasurer. While I did not set out to join SGA, in the midst of my first semester as a freshman, it found me. It was the greatest opportunity of my undergrad journey (2006-2011) to serve in many capacities just to improve student life in some small way. Serving others is a privilege, and if by chance you have the opportunity presented, take it! Currently, I do it within the DoD, and it has been a fun journey so far, serving our military/civilian workforce, and helping to inform our national decision-makers on various defense matters.

Research Fellow and UGSP Scholar
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

Class of 2020 | Biology and Psychology
Undergraduate Representative to the Board of Visitors
SGA Senator
Honors College Ambassador
VCU-SCHEV Representative and Student Advisor Committee Chair
Senior Vice-Provost for Student Affairs Advisor for VCU-BOV and VCU-SCHEV
VCU Qatar Leadership Exchange Ambassador
President of ODK

How did your involvement as a student leader contribute to your current career success?

As a student representative to the board of visitors, I learned to engage with several renowned representatives on the board, and that brought me a lot of confidence in my communication skills when talking to important people who represent larger-than-life goals. I work in the largest clinical research center in the world, and some of the most relevant and cutting-edge research is done there. It's hard to see myself in those buildings and not be afraid to communicate with the leaders of the many fields I am exposed to on a daily basis. At the BOV, I learned that these leaders and I have similar concerns and that they do want to know what I have to say. So, now I am not afraid to talk to them and engage in productive, inspiring conversation. I ask questions, I learn, and I improve as a biomedical scientist and a constant representative of minorities in the field.

Higher Education Marketing and Fundraising

Class of 2015 | Marketing
Undergraduate representative to the BOV
STAT president
SGA senator
Rowdy Rams leadership team

How did your involvement as a student leader contribute to your current career success?

Throughout my career, teamwork has always been the driving force behind solving problems and leveraging opportunities. I am grateful for my student leadership experiences for showing me how rewarding it is to collectively lead with purpose and make a difference.

Category Specialist
McKesson

Class of 2019 | Anthropology
Undergraduate Student Representative to the Board of Visitors

How did your involvement as a student leader contribute to your current career success?

My involvement helped me develop the skills to effectively communicate at all levels of my organization.

MD Candidate
Harvard Medical School

Class of 2017 | Biology, Minor in Music & Chemistry
Student Representative to the Board of Visitors

How did your involvement as a student leader contribute to your current career success?

VCU has contributed meaningfully to my education and development of a world view. As an out-of-state student, the decision to leave my hometown of Portland, Oregon, and travel across the country to VCU was not an easy one. My initial feelings of trepidation were immediately overcome once I began to take an active role as a member of the Honors College in my freshman year. Fast forward several years to my final year as a medical student at Harvard Medical School, and I continue to see the ways in which VCU provided me with the tools and opportunities to advance my academic goals and to recognize my capacity to effect change as a leader in my community. VCU offered me not only an intellectually stimulating atmosphere with engagement in scholarly thought and academic excellence but also with priceless experiences to guide the shaping of my worldview.

In reflecting on how best to channel my energies to make a lasting impact on the VCU community, I recognized the great potential for the realization of this goal through service as the Student Representative to the Board of Visitors. Having been selected by President Rao, it was an honor for me to participate in the major decisions guiding the direction of the University at the Board level. It is through serving as the Student Representative that I was able to positively affect the student experience for years to come. Through interacting with students across various Colleges on both campuses, I had the opportunity to serve as a voice for VCU’s diverse student body. It is in this way that I make my contribution towards advancing the goals set out in the University's Quest for Distinction.

Another avenue through which I have had the opportunity to develop leadership capacity has stemmed from a desire to affect positive change within the College of Humanities & Sciences. Recognizing the unique opportunity for students’ voices to be heard at the level of the Dean, I approached former Dean Coleman in my sophomore year with the idea to create a student leadership group within the College to cater to the needs of its students. Serving as the President of The Leadership Council for the College of Humanities & Sciences as a direct advisor to the Dean provided me with a wealth of exposure to the challenges that a College faces in engaging its students, building a sense of identity, and uniting diverse departments. Constructing a vision for the advancement of the Leadership Council served as a rewarding avenue through which I learned the necessary skill of bringing people together behind a common purpose.

In addition to the rewarding experiences above, I have enjoyed the sense of fulfillment stemming from acts of service in the community and around the world. The importance VCU places on service was realized in my first few days as a student. During my years in Richmond, I served the local youth through implementing the Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program, which strives to instill virtues and help the youth in the Oakgrove-Bellemeade neighborhood recognize that their ideas DO matter – an idea often at odds with the prevailing perception of youth. Every week, I was overjoyed to see those youth growing in fellowship with one another and becoming excited at their own self-initiated service to their neighborhood regardless of challenges associated with their backgrounds and economic circumstances. Such experiences directly develop my worldview and instill a desire within me to work towards breaking patterns of racial inequality.

The opportunities to serve as a leader in my community, combined with the Honors College emphasis on a diverse world view, led me to Manzini, Swaziland, where I volunteered in a medical clinic serving an impoverished population plagued by AIDS. The opportunity to experience an entirely unfamiliar conceptual framework guided by the principles of detachment, selflessness, and community instilled in me a new way of thinking and changed my outlook on life’s purpose.

I am incredibly grateful to VCU for its role in guiding and preparing me for future pursuits and enriching my education in ways I could not have ever imagined. The meaningful leadership opportunities ultimately enabled me to advance my academic goals and set a firm foundation for the subsequent chapter of my education and contributions as a medical student at Harvard Medical School.

Assistant Secretary of Administration
Virginia Governor's Office

Class of 2013 | Political Science
SGA President

How did your involvement as a student leader contribute to your current career success?

VCU's Student Government Association, and my particular involvement as SGA President, catapulted my interest and trajectory in civic involvement. It put front and center that if you want to help create change, you have to get in the arena. As an American Muslim living in a post 9/11 world, I didn't see many individuals who looked like me sitting at that table making decisions. Running for SGA President gave me that confidence to follow in such a storied history of student leaders finding ways to make a difference on campus. Looking back now at my time in SGA, I am lucky to have been surrounded by such smart, charismatic, and motivated individuals. Many of whom are now leaders in their own respective fields. Leadership comes in many forms, but the most successful leaders always find a way to lift others up alongside them. Paying it forward.

Employment Counsel
Facebook

Class of 2010 | Marketing
SGA President

How did your involvement as a student leader contribute to your current career success?

My time as a student leader taught and reinforced many valuable lessons, including the need to be a team player, being able to shift and balance priorities, the importance of preparation and always showing up at your best, and how to effectively manage demands on my time. All of these attributes have contributed to the professional successes that I have enjoyed.

School Counselor | Educational Consultant

Class of 2011 | Political Science
SGA Long Term Projects Chairman
President, Theta Rho Chapter - Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc
New Student Programs Office Manager

How did your involvement as a student leader contribute to your current career success?

Serving as the SGA Long Term Projects Chairman allowed me to develop a robust understanding of leading others, collaborating with all stakeholders, and empowering my fellow colleagues. SGA afforded me an opportunity to implement new projects and events that not only benefited the student body but the local community as well. As a counselor and global educator, I am confident and well equipped with the tools necessary to serve and empower students, parents, and staff.

My passion to exemplify the love of learning and motivate students has led me to profound endeavors such as becoming a co-founder of Alchemy InCoaching, LLC, overseeing international service-learning excursions to South America and Africa, as well as developing and facilitating academic support groups & peer mentoring programs within my school community. My VCU leadership experiences have played an intricate role in my professional success and I would encourage all students to get involved, make a positive impact, and let nothing hold you back!

Class of 2018 | Marketing and da Vinci Product Innovation Certification
VCU Student Government Association
   Student Government President for undergraduate, graduate, and professional students
   Chair of Senate (President Pro Tempore)
   Academic Affairs Chair
Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated Epsilon Zeta Chapter
   Treasurer
   Financial Secretary
President, Fraternity and Sorority Life Finance Board
Business Student Ambassador
PR Committee Member, National Association of Black Accountants
RAM Camp Leader, VCU Residential Life and Housing ­

How did your involvement as a student leader contribute to your current career success?

As a student leader, I learned essential soft skills that helped me navigate the technology industry. Throughout my student leadership journey, I was able to lead an organization while actively listening to the student body, inclusively collaborate with diverse individuals, and connect with a myriad of fellow RAMs! Within my career as a Senior Consultant at International Business Machines (IBM), I use these skills on a daily basis, especially when it comes to networking. The essence of networking is initiating a conversation and forging a relationship. In addition to networking, being innovative and open to new experiences are also ways to network and learn fast regardless of one’s industry.