The 2023 Women of UD

Ikram Hennaoui

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT / PSYCHOLOGY MAJOR AND FAMILY DEVELOPMENT MINOR / CLASS OF 2024

“I was really iffy about coming to a university that was religious because it did not represent my religion. But the University of Dayton is very welcoming. I applied to like 9 schools, and I got accepted into all of them, but I chose it for that! It's going to sound crazy but the religious aspect of it also brought me closer. The first time I entered Stuart Complex, the person in charge of the prayer room pulled me aside and told me that I am just as welcome to pray in this chapel as everyone else. He talked about Islam with me and I felt so welcome. 

The MSA (Muslim Student Association) is something I hold really close to me. When I became president I was thrown into that role. I was really scared…I didn’t feel ready to be a leader. There wasn't much of an organization because of covid. I had to go to so many meetings and I was ready to quit, and there weren’t many individuals to give positions to. But something happened and I was like ‘No. We're going to have this organization rise because when I leave there are going to be individuals who are going to succeed from it.’ Muslims in general are so underrepresented. I guess my job was to represent the individuals who aren’t represented.

I was originally born in Algeria. Coming to America at age 5 and starting school was the hardest thing for me because I was always looked at as the odd kid. My English was broken, my parents were struggling. I felt like I started from the bottom. I always felt like I was below everyone because that’s what society made me out to be. You know, because I was Muslim as well, my mother wore the hijab… 

My parents are a big part of who I am today, always encouraging and never pushing me. They always remind me ‘You're here for a limited amount of time. You can’t do everything, but have a purpose.’ When I came to UD, it felt like I started over again, like I had just come from Algeria, but this time around I wasn’t going to be that shy girl that let people step over her. This time around I was going to walk confident, boldly. 

What society thinks I should and shouldn’t do…being a woman and a hijabi...I’ve had people question me about my position and the decisions that I’ve made as president. I’m working on rebuilding an organization that accepts people to come in and just learn instead of an isolated organization that focuses on religion. Us partnering with MEC (Multi-Ethnic Education and Engagement Center)…I make sure to reach out to other organizations to do events just to show people about Muslims themselves. There's that stereotype, whether they are aggressive, one-minded…unfortunately some people still do believe that. My goal was to help the people open up their minds a little bit more and help Muslims become more connected with other groups as other groups connect with us as well.

The hardest part in creating leaders is to remember when you’re always in the position of helping people out, sometimes you forget about taking care of yourself. And the most difficult thing is that you need to take up space, where you think you don’t belong. You have to remember ‘No, this is where I’m at and I’m meant to be here.’ But this is another way that I can help people who are underrepresented. Being bold, showing up to events where I didn’t feel included, but still going...That kind of stuff was uncomfortable but I had to do them because that was my purpose.

I love love love learning about other people, and I think it's gotten me far. You know that awkwardness when you meet someone new or whatever? I just jump over that! I hate making people uncomfortable, making snap judgements. 

It’s hard, starting from scratch. Especially like individuals coming from other countries; I love when they talk to me. It is SO HARD coming to a new country. When I was in school I never corrected anyone when they said my name wrong. I was too embarrassed because I was the odd one. And now everytime someone says my name wrong I say ‘No, it’s Ikram.’  I try to be a representation of who they can become, but in their own unique way.”