As an international student from Syria when I first came to Stetson in the spring of 2020, I faced some hard times fitting in the American society as many international students do. I and a group of my Arab friends: Chama, Saif, Christa, and Noureen noticed that whenever we meet a new person, they would ask about our countries, cultures, and customs and people are curious about more Arab, North African, and Middle Eastern cultures. As we knew more people, we wanted to have a platform that represents our identity and let more people be aware of our culture. So, we thought about starting the Arab Student Organization at Stetson.
At the beginning of fall 2020, the organization advisor, Manal Ammagui, supported us to start a new student organization that will represent the Arab, Middle Eastern, and North African Cultures at Stetson.
Anyone can be a part of the Arab Student Organization (ASO,) regardless of their nationality or ethnicity. We love curious people as our mission is to share Arab culture with everyone and offer them an authentic look into the rich Arab culture that the media misrepresent sometimes.
We will do that through fun events and activities like movie nights, cultural celebrations, and food rushes. Moreover, ASO will be a platform for Arab students to express their cultural identity and connect with other fellow Arab students to help them feel that they do belong at Stetson and that their cultural belonging is celebrated. You can join ASO by contacting us through email or by requesting to join through the Engage platform: https://stetson.campuslabs.com/engage/organization/aso.
The organization has been official for less than a week now and we have been receiving amazing feedback and a lot of people are excited to be at our events and enjoy the good food and learn more about our culture. We would love to have you at (ASO.)
If you have any questions you can reach out to any of these individuals. Each and everyone played a part in making this student organization a reality for all of Stetson’s community.
Yahia Adla, Biology/Pre-medicine major, 2023′. Saif Mostafa, CS/Economics major, 2023’Noureen Saeed, International Business/Entrepreneurship major, 2024′ Christa Assi, International Studies major, 2024’ Chama Bouoad Fulbright FLTA Scholar 2020-2021.
During a time of chaos, uncertainty, and an upheaval from the norm, the WORLD team continued to push through all obstacles by continuing to offer the best service to our Stetson community. This year, the WORLD Center staff and student employees were recognized for all their hard work.
Paula Hentz, Director of International Learning, P.A.R. Award
During Stetson Annual Employee Recognition Award Ceremony, Paula Hentz received the P.A.R. Award which is given to an individual who embodies the three characteristics of professionalism, attitude, and reliability. Her nominator said that during this tumultuous year for international education, Paula “navigated the roller coaster of activity related to the pandemic from carefully building programs to seeing them come to a screeching halt, evacuating students across the globe, border restrictions, political battles, ICE complications, and other global dynamics that threaten international diplomacies and relationships that the WORLD Center worked for many, many years to build.” Paula is a consummate professional and has managed the delicate balance between family life while maintaining the strictest codes of professionalism while attending to her core work responsibilities. “No matter the situation, Paula remains poised, exuding the essence of calm competence so critical to the work of higher education,” said her nominator. Our Center is incredibly honored to work with an incredible leader who has helped our office come out of one of the most difficult times for our field. Paula was also nominated for the Morale Builder of the Year.
Roxanne Lewis, International Student and Scholar Services Coordinator, January 2021 Spirit of Stetson Winner
Roxanne Lewis (top right) receiving her Spirit of Stetson award
The Spirit of Stetson is awarded monthly to a member of the Stetson community who dedicates themselves every day to do a job well done. Roxanne received the award in January for all the incredible work she accomplished with our international student population. The Quality of Service Council recognized the incredible challenges she faced with the ever-changing landscape of immigration laws, changes for a virtual orientation, and the relationships she builds with our students. Her nominator also mentioned that Roxanne is an incredible member of the community and cares deeply for others. During the pandemic, Roxanne regularly reached out to colleagues to check in and see how they were doing. Her empathy and care embodies the Spirit of Stetson. Also, this year at the Employee Recognition Awards event, Roxanne was nominated for the Go Beyond Award for her work with our international students. She successfully worked with Grants, Development, and Financial Aid to find financial support for our students who were unable to support themselves due to the pandemic and/or political and social unrest at home. In addition, Roxanne was a part of a group of faculty and staff to receive recognition during the yearly Top Hatter Awards as a First-Year Advocate.
Morgan Egan, Student Marketing Coordinator, September 2020 Student Employee of the Month – Professionalism and Productivity.
The Office of Student Employment presenting the Student Employee of the Month award to Morgan Egan (top right)
Morgan worked tirelessly from the start of the pandemic assisting the WORLD office in processing refund requests for all the canceled study abroad programs. After the university went entirely virtual, Morgan created a biweekly student-driven program called the Virtual Culture Hour. The series, which continued through the 20/21 academic year, highlighted a different country or region of the world where our international or study abroad students would share the history, culture, misconceptions, brief language lesson, cooking demonstration, and a fun trivia game. Morgan also worked hard throughout the year to update the outdated WORLD websites and make them more visually appealing and easier to navigate. She also assisted in the creation and implementation of our Virtual Study Abroad Fair which we offered 3 times during the year. Morgan is graduating this upcoming weekend and we will miss her professionalism and productivity at the WORLD Center.
Anh Nguyen, Student Clerical Assistant, March 2021 Student Employee of the Month – Global and Intercultural Engagement
Anh Nguyen (bottom right) receiving the March 2021 Student Employee of the Month award
As the Clerical Assistant, Anh Nguyen, works closely with her supervisor, Roxanne Lewis, by designing posters, creating presentations, planning events, managing email communications, and helping fellow international students with the management of their residency status. Anh initially began working with WORLD as a WORLD Ambassador as a member of the Social Committee. She has always had the goal of assisting international students and make them feel at home at Stetson. From the moment she first entered the WORLD building, she knew she wanted to work there and help her fellow classmates. She loves being able to learn new skills that she can apply to all areas of her work and education. Not only is Anh a WORLD student employee, but she is also a Resident Assistant (RA), Vice President of APAC (Asian Pacific American Coalition), and a full-time International Business major.
Anh also was the recipient of the Stetson Values Leader Award for Global Citizenship during the Top Hatter Annual Award Ceremony. The award is given to one outstanding Stetson student that has demonstrated a commitment to Stetson’s Value of Global Citizenship in their involvements, leadership, and contributions to the community.
