April 13, 2022 (vol. 131, iss. 72) • Page Image 7
… not being where I “need to be.” Coming from a high school that is composed of an overwhelmingly Arab stu- dent body, where most students are not met with the opportunity of moving away for col- lege…
… or even attending a university like the University of Michigan, I face a new struggle of assimilating into a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) as an underrepresented student of Color. Dealing…
… my sheltered, small town of predominantly Arabs and Mus- lims. I also held the fears of not being able to achieve my academic and personal goals, not only because of my own barriers but because of…
… room where the information session was being held. I caught the glances of all the other older students in the room and immediately felt my body shrivel up. There was a teacher at the front of the…
… classroom with a stack of papers on a desk, and a line of students in front of her. I quietly stood in line and twiddled my thumbs, avoiding eye contact with the other students before I eventually made…
… it to the teacher and her desk. “Hi there, what’s your name?” “Smarani.” The teacher immediately looked puz- zled. I could feel the students behind me in line becoming impatient as the teacher…
… sort, showing a list of a bunch of students’ first and last names. “The last name is Komanduri, K-O- M-A-N-D-U-R-I,” I added. I figured the roster was alphabetized by last name and hoped I could…
…, the teacher stopped me. “Oh, sweetie, could you hang back for a sec?” I slowly paced over to her desk as all the other students made their way out the door, taking a final quick glance in my…
