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Abdulrahman Batyour |
Batyour is from Saudi Arabia. He joined the Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (SABIC) educational scholarship program in 2016 to study abroad. He joined the University of Arizona to major in chemical engineering in Fall 2017. He has served as engineering ambassador in the College of Engineering since Fall 2018. Batyour was selected to be a preceptor in chemistry 152 to help struggling students. He was invited, along with other students, to represent the scholarship’s students in a meeting with SABIC Board of Directors in Houston, Texas in Fall 2018. In spring 2019, he joined the International Students Advisory Council (ISAC). His reason of joining the council is to help the international students engage more on campus by delivering and marketing the many services available to them, and to generate more interesting ideas that will enhance the international student experience, both academic and non-academic. One interesting fact about Batyour is that he loves traveling, and has visited 35 states in the three years he has been here!
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Ahana Singh |
Ahana Singh is an incoming sophomore at the University of Arizona. She is pursuing Pre-Business with an intended major in MIS from the university. She is from India. She decided to join ISAC because she felt the need to cultivate a sense of belonging among the international students. She believes in the philosophy of growing together. She has a passion for exploring different cultures and loves to hear the stories behind certain traditions. She is also interested in mental well-being and fostering healthy relationships with your mind and body.
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Alma Tejeda Padron |
Alma is a Psychology PhD student with minor in Health at the College of Science. She serves as a Graduate Student representative at the Psychology department as well as a volunteer at Stressbusters, a national training and outreach program that locally, is produced by the University of Arizona Campus Health Service. Alma was born and raised in Southern Mexico and as a student for the first time in the United States, she is aware of the challenges that international students can face when they first travel to the United States. Alma’s goal is to develop and promote practices that help international students to feel welcomed, supported and engaged in a global environment, enriching the University of Arizona and the global community.
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Amy Gill |
Amy Shamin Gill is an international graduate student in the School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Arizona. She is pursuing a Masters in Ecology, Management, and Restoration of Rangelands. Amy was born and raised in Pakistan and came to the United States to complete her studies on a Fulbright Master Scholarship. At the University of Arizona, she is part of the International Student Advisory Council, where she gets to learn and know people from diverse cultural backgrounds. An international student, herself, Amy is eager to support the international student community with much-needed help and guidance in the adjustments and transitions required to settle in a foreign place. She wants to contribute to making other international students' journeys enjoyable and believes that things start feeling easier and more relatable when you find home-like familiarities in your new environment. In her free time, Amy likes to hang out with friends, watch movies (Netflix could never go wrong), sketch and paint occasionally.
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Aniqa Shah |
Aniqa Shah, from Pakistan, is a 3rd year PhD student at the College of Education. She firmly believes in the idea of student government and is very convinced that students’ understanding of the challenges of their fellow students is a lot better than that of the people at the helms. She is a strong advocate for students supporting each other and her motivation to join ISAC rests in a strong desire to contribute to this advocacy. She is eager to play her part as a student representative - to monitor, give voice to and seek solutions for international students’ struggles and needs. She is a big movie junkie and TV is her go-to stress reliever.
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Corey Reid |
Corey is a second-year law student at the University of Arizona James E Rogers College. As an international student from Jamaica, Corey has experience being a J1 student under the US work and travel Cultural exchange program and as an F1 student that has studied for her master’s and now pursuing her Juris Doctor. Corey's main reason for joining ISAC is to ensure issues of the international student community are being heard and not overlooked, and actions are being taken by those who hold the power and not mere promises. As an international student, Corey understands the hardship of being in a new environment, lack of support and being the victim of policies that overlook the struggles of international studies. As a member of ISAC, Corey hopes to bring meaningful change through engagement with our university leaders and the broader international student community.
Corey is a fan of the Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors from the NBA, Germany National Football Team in the World Cup and of course the Jamaican Track and Field Team. Corey also enjoys herbal gardening as she currently grows, peppermint, basley, parsley, tomatoes, green onions and peppers in her backyard. Corey also has a deep interest in sustainable natural energy and hopes to venture in that sector as an Entrepreneur. As a future Attorney, Corey's interest ranges from Immigration Law and Policy, Criminal Defense and Corporate Law
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Duke Oshiomah Ozamah |
Duke is a Sophomore from Nigeria. He is a Geosciences major, with a Geophysics emphasis, and a Mathematics minor. He loves learning about different cultures and people and learning more about the unity and diversity of humanity as a whole. It is partly because of this that he decided to join the International Student Advisory Council; to advocate the enhancement of multiculturalism within international student communities on campus and improve the general well-being of the international student experience. In his spare time, he enjoys learning new languages and also playing soccer.
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Jiahui He |
Jiahui He is a Junior in the Eller College of Management. She is currently double major in Accounting and MIS. She was born and raised in Qingdao, China. Jiahui is passionate about helping international students at the University of Arizona, and she enjoys experiencing different cultures. Outside of school, she likes to capture life through images and editing videos.
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Lokina Kishoiyian |
Lokina Kishoiyian is an attorney for Indigenous communities and minority groups. She was born and raised in Narok county, Kenya. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Juridical Sciences (S.J.D.) degree in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy (I.P.L.P) at the James E. College of Law. She also graduated with a Master of Law (LLM) in the same program at the University of Arizona. She is passionate about human rights laws, property rights and women rights. As an avid justice and equality enthusiast, Lokina joined ISAC to support international students’ initiatives and to help new students transition well into the system. She loves art, live band music and enjoys nature walks.
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Manujinda Wathugala |
Manujinda Wathugala is a second year Ph.D. student in Computer Science. His research focus is Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. Manujinda is from Sri Lanka, the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. His mother tongue is Sinhalese. Prior to the University of Arizona, he completed his MS in Computer Science at the University of Oregon. So, he is both a Duck and a Wildcat. Having lived in different parts of the USA, Manujinda can relate to many situations than an international student faces while studying in a US college. He loves meeting people from all around the world and making friends with them. He also loves to introduce his friends to each other. He believes networking and communicating with people across boundaries that we have enforced on us—such as cultures, religions, and nations—is the best way to alleviate many of the problems and conflicts we are facing today. He thinks the International Student Advisory Council is an ideal platform to practice and promote this locally at the University of Arizona. Manujinda likes to meditate and watch TED talks.
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Marédil León |
Marédil León is a PhD Candidate in the Second Language Acquisition and Teaching program. She was born and raised in Venezuela and has been at the University of Arizona for her master’s and PhD programs. She strongly believes in diversity and equality for all, and on the huge benefits of multiculturalism and multilingualism in academia. Joining the International Student Advisory Council and advocating for international students is an incredible opportunity to put this passion into practice. In her free time, she enjoys watching documentaries and going dancing with her friends.
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Moruj (MJ) Athma |
Moruj (MJ) Athma is a senior in the life science college, majoring in Biology. Moruj was born and raised in Saudi Arabia, Makkah. Her academic interests include physiology and genetic research, and she loves to learn new languages and experience new cultures. She is passionate about embracing the diversity of international students on campus, supporting them to achieve high academic success while enjoying their time, and showing them all the possible opportunities they have to improve their skills in many aspects. Her hobbies include drawing, writing (in Arabic), learning new languages, and jump rope.
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Ola Allababidi |
Ola Allababidi is a sophomore studying Neuroscience and Cognitive Sciences. She is from Damascus, Syria, but was born and raised in Saudi Arabia. Ola loves to travel, read, and swim. Being part of the International Student Advisory Council means a lot to Ola because when she first moved to Tucson, she felt like no one was there for her. After joining ISAC, she started meeting a lot of people and has built many meaningful connections. Ola plans on doing her best to make sure everyone feels included at the University of Arizona and that no one feels left out. A lot of the students feel welcomed the first week but then with time find it hard to adapt, and she wants to help make the transition easier, especially for those who are afraid to take the first step in doing so.
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Rahman Durowoju |
Rahman Durowoju is an international student at the University of Arizona. He is currently a junior and on course to finish his undergrad in a year and half time. His intentions as a council member of ISAC include making international students like himself feel more comfortable and welcome at the University of Arizona while having the opportunity to make the best out of their college experience.
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Rickeem Butler |
Rickeem is a 3rd year international graduate student, from the Bahamas, in the College of Medicine. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Medical Pharmacology, minoring in Neuroscience, and conducting research around establishing the mechanistic link between hypertension and Alzheimer's disease. He has career aspirations in patent law and technology transfer and is a proponent for tailoring his graduate experience to better prepare himself for such a career. His past experiences of teaching and mentoring underserved African American and Native American students in the STEM field makes him poised to join the ISAC council and support its mission to improve engagement with the international student community and the global consciousness of UArizona at large.
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Yashvardhan Vats |
Yashvardhan Vats is an international student from India, born in New Delhi (National Capital of India) and raised in Mumbai (Financial Capital of India). He is a sophomore in the College of Social and Behavioral Science and the Eller College of Management. His majors are Pre-Business (Intended Majors: Management Information Systems and Operations Management) and Information Science and Technology. He has a seat in the International Student Advisory Council and is a Global Ambassador at the University of Arizona. His hobbies are playing basketball and watching mind-boggling/confusing movies. He is passionate about his family and career, and also about helping international students adapt to the United States environment and culture. He is especially passionate about ISAC because it is the first ever council the university has formed to address the initiative of bringing together the international students, International Student Services (ISS) and international student associations. His ideal post-graduation job is to be business analyst in the ‘big 4’ accounting firms or at least in the top 50 of the Fortune 500 companies.
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