When human resource management senior Mariam Alamiri came to MSU from Saudi Arabia in August 2012, she had one goal — to find herself.
Only a few short months into her freshman year, she learned just how she would do that.
Alamiri met her husband at MSU – he was on the Homecoming court in 2012. She attended the parade with him and realized she could find herself by being on the court.
“When I saw him there, I had a realization that in order to be there, I had to do so much to grow up as a person and to affect everybody around me in the community,” Alamiri said. “I promised myself that I wanted to grow up. It was a goal for me that by senior year, I wanted to be in the Homecoming court.”
From then on, Alamiri said she worked toward bettering herself and her community. She became involved in the Multi-Racial Unity Living Experience as a student leader, has been an intercultural aide for the past two years and has held various positions as mentors, interns and community service chairs. She said she became this involved to affect her community as much as possible.
“Really my goal was to change at least one person’s life,” Alamiri said. “If I did change that life, I would feel that I have a reason to be here. Because even if you change one soul, that one soul is gonna change another soul and the process keeps going. I don’t feel like I’m leaving this place without changing at least one life.”
Alamiri said she feels as though she’s achieved that through her job as an intercultural aide. She said she’s glad to support and help others and give them the resources to change and succeed.
The Homecoming court has duties beyond this week. Alamiri and other members of the court will attend alumni events throughout the 2015-2016 year.
This week, however, is what is on Alamiri’s mind. She said she is most looking forward to the parade and the game. Both events will have the court honored. At the game they will go on the field during halftime.
“I’m kind of nervous about that part,” she said. “I don’t want to slip and fall, and if it’s rainy or something it’s gonna be very interesting. For the parade, it’s gonna be exciting. I don’t want to come because it’ll come and go away and it’ll be over.”
Still, Alamiri is looking toward the future. She graduates in May and already has her flight booked back to Saudi Arabia for mid-May. She said when she gets home, she will work in Human Resources for an oil company.
Alamiri said she is happy to have Homecoming as a part of her time at MSU as a marker of her success in finding herself--her goal from freshman year.
“I feel like (homecoming court) is a reward for me,” she said. “It’s not the part of being recognized, but the fact that I can leave this place proud of what I did and who I am. I finally achieved the reason for why I’m here. For me, homecoming was my clue that I’m in that stage right now. So Homecoming I would say is the last chapter of my journey at MSU.”
Read about the other members of the homecoming court here.
