Nourel-Hoda Eidy is a junior majoring in public health; she works in the CASC program in recruitment and students services.
Since arriving at the university, Eidy has dedicated herself to building a supportive community for Arab students. “I went from a school that is 98% Arab and majority Muslim to being the one Arab person in a class or space. It was very evident for me very quickly that I didn’t have the opportunities or the resources that my peers had, and that manifested in my education and my preparedness. I didn’t know how to network; I didn’t even know what networking means. To tackle U-M, I needed to play catch-up in a lot of ways.”
Eidy co-founded Successful Arab Leaders at Michigan (SALAM) – a two-day orientation program for incoming Arab students that connects them to campus resources, support networks and the Arab community. She also co-created the Arab Leadership Network (ALN) and is a founding sister of the U-M colony of Epsilon Alpha Sigma Sorority, Inc., which defines itself as the “Empowered Arab Sisterhood” and is the university’s first Arab sorority. “By creating mentorship programs, we have a formalized, structural way to receive support and develop leadership.”
Eidy sees her award as a win for the Arab community. ‘Having programs like SALAM, ALN and the sorority recognized [by U-M] shows that our community does exist and we are successful. That makes me really happy. We’ve created something sustainable and that is exciting to see.”
In the fall, Eidy will take her GRE and apply to graduate programs. “I’m confident that a lot of the skills that I’ve gained I can translate into the future work that I’ll do; I’ve gained a lot in the classroom, but even more in the community.”