Hello and welcome to the Norse family. I am extremely honored to be NKU’s Presidential First Partner. Since 2018, I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting NKU donors and well-wishers, faculty and staff, students and alumni at various university and community events.
I thank you for your warm welcome and I hope we can continue to strengthen our connections for the benefit of the university, its students and the community.
On this webpage, you can learn about my recent engagements with organizations that advance NKU’s mission of achieving student success and inclusivity and support NKU as a steward of place in the Greater Cincinnati region but, also reveal my passion and advocacy as the President’s partner.
Nunn Drive // AC800
Highland Heights, KY 41099
Phone: (859) 572-5123
The President has asked this board to assess gaps and unmet needs and recommend steps the university can take to improve and expand mental health and counseling services to students on campus.
Many studies have shown a strong correlation between mental well-being and student success. So we must invest in building awareness of counseling services on campus, destigmatizing mental illness and encouraging students to seek help when in need or crisis. We also want to foster a self- care approach that will be integrated with a healthy lifestyle that learners can adopt as future workers and members of society. With a better collaborative network of care approach, we hope to increase student resiliency, prevent suicides and create a sense of belonging and communal care.
I am approaching this work as a parent and an advocate of student well-being on our campus. I have always admired students who study, work and have family commitments, and I recognize how balancing all these roles can be overwhelming and stressful for young adults as they deal with interpersonal relationship dynamics and leadership development opportunities while maintaining their grades and scholarships. By making counseling services more visible and accessible — and by lowering any barriers to seeking help — we can assist students in achieving their goals and being successful in life once armed with tools of self-care.
Learn more about NKU's Mental Health Initiatives
I am very excited to be a board member on World Affairs Council and to be engaged in their mission of promoting global education to students in local schools. I hope to also help strengthen ties with foreign nations through intercultural exchange of scholars and government dignitaries in the Greater Cincinnati region. Both World Affairs Council and NKU have similar goals of promoting globalism in the region and my aim will be to help both institutions achieve that goal with my engagement and global perspective. At some point, I would like our international students to be global ambassadors and have opportunities to connect with local students and share a bit of their culture and country.
Learn more about World Affairs Council
I walked into an informational meeting by Refugee Connect in 2019 as I was interested in connecting with local refugee families or individuals as a volunteer. Based on our conversations, we started talking about issues and the need to make higher education more accessible to students from families who came here as refugees and became new Americans. We have been working with the NKU Office of Admissions to provide virtual tours to the Congolese parents and students in their native language –French. If this is successful, we may expand to other communities in the Greater Cincinnati region. Again, this meets with NKU’s mission of being accessible and inclusive. By bringing in more students from different cultures and communities living “invisible” in our midst, we are able to provide opportunities for social and economic mobility. Our work has just begun and we should gradually have many services expanded.
It is an honor to serve on the scholarship committee and have an opportunity to connect with students striving for educational success. I am grateful to Refugee Connect for this opportunity.
Did you know that at the close of Fiscal Year 2019, Kentucky ranked 5th in the nation in the number of refugee arrivals compared to other states? Learn more at: kentuckyrefugees.org.
There are a growing number of refugees in northern Kentucky and Cincinnati who have moved into these areas as secondary settlement pattern of residence.
Learn more about Refugees Connect
I applaud the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in coming up with a welcoming plan to make northern Kentucky a vibrant, inclusive place of work and living for immigrants and new Americans. It was a pleasure to work with the planning committee and to be on its taskforce representing NKU. Both NKU and the Chamber of Commerce share a similar vision of promoting the economic success of all its residents — natives, immigrants and new Americans.
NKU aims to serve as a steward of place. Thus, as an educational institution, it connects to the needs of the economy and its workforce. I serve as a liaison between the two organizations, attending meetings and connecting people who can get things done. This is under development with a lot of promise.
Learn more about Gateways for Growth
Co-chair on NKU Mental Health Advisory Group The President has asked this board to assess gaps and unmet needs and recommend steps the university can take to improve and expand mental health and counseling services to students on campus.
Many studies have shown a strong correlation between mental well-being and student success. So we must invest in building awareness of counseling services on campus, destigmatizing mental illness and encouraging students to seek help when in need or crisis. We also want to foster a self- care approach that will be integrated with a healthy lifestyle that learners can adopt as future workers and members of society. With a better collaborative network of care approach, we hope to increase student resiliency, prevent suicides and create a sense of belonging and communal care.
I am approaching this work as a parent and an advocate of student well-being on our campus. I have always admired students who study, work and have family commitments, and I recognize how balancing all these roles can be overwhelming and stressful for young adults as they deal with interpersonal relationship dynamics and leadership development opportunities while maintaining their grades and scholarships. By making counseling services more visible and accessible — and by lowering any barriers to seeking help — we can assist students in achieving their goals and being successful in life once armed with tools of self-care.
Learn more about NKU's Mental Health Initiatives
Board Member on World Affairs Council of Cincinnati and Northern KentuckyI am very excited to be a board member on World Affairs Council and to be engaged in their mission of promoting global education to students in local schools. I hope to also help strengthen ties with foreign nations through intercultural exchange of scholars and government dignitaries in the Greater Cincinnati region. Both World Affairs Council and NKU have similar goals of promoting globalism in the region and my aim will be to help both institutions achieve that goal with my engagement and global perspective. At some point, I would like our international students to be global ambassadors and have opportunities to connect with local students and share a bit of their culture and country.
Learn more about World Affairs Council
Serving on Dean Razzak’s Scholarship Committee organized by Refugee Connect of Cincinnati and Northern KentuckyI walked into an informational meeting by Refugee Connect in 2019 as I was interested in connecting with local refugee families or individuals as a volunteer. Based on our conversations, we started talking about issues and the need to make higher education more accessible to students from families who came here as refugees and became new Americans. We have been working with the NKU Office of Admissions to provide virtual tours to the Congolese parents and students in their native language –French. If this is successful, we may expand to other communities in the Greater Cincinnati region. Again, this meets with NKU’s mission of being accessible and inclusive. By bringing in more students from different cultures and communities living “invisible” in our midst, we are able to provide opportunities for social and economic mobility. Our work has just begun and we should gradually have many services expanded.
It is an honor to serve on the scholarship committee and have an opportunity to connect with students striving for educational success. I am grateful to Refugee Connect for this opportunity.
Did you know that at the close of Fiscal Year 2019, Kentucky ranked 5th in the nation in the number of refugee arrivals compared to other states? Learn more at: kentuckyrefugees.org.
There are a growing number of refugees in northern Kentucky and Cincinnati who have moved into these areas as secondary settlement pattern of residence.
Learn more about Refugees Connect
Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce:I applaud the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in coming up with a welcoming plan to make northern Kentucky a vibrant, inclusive place of work and living for immigrants and new Americans. It was a pleasure to work with the planning committee and to be on its taskforce representing NKU. Both NKU and the Chamber of Commerce share a similar vision of promoting the economic success of all its residents — natives, immigrants and new Americans.
NKU aims to serve as a steward of place. Thus, as an educational institution, it connects to the needs of the economy and its workforce. I serve as a liaison between the two organizations, attending meetings and connecting people who can get things done. This is under development with a lot of promise.
Learn more about Gateways for Growth
Nunn Drive // AC800
Highland Heights, KY 41099
Phone: (859) 572-5123
