About Me

Background:

My name is Noor Alawad and I am currently a junior at Loyola University Chicago studying Biological sciences and hope to one day pursue a career in medicine. Prior to enrolling as a student at Loyola, I have always aspired to remain an active member of my community through continuous service work and volunteering. As a high school student, I often found myself participating in volunteer activities at my local food pantry, hospital, mosque and community center. I discovered my passion in teaching little children at the local Saturday school my Senior year of high school and through this processes, have grown tremendously in terms of work ethic, character, and personality. My continuous involvement in my Islamic community, including my position as previous Saturday school teacher, highly contributes to my current role as an Arabic and Islamic Studies teacher at ICCI and has played a major factor in the individual I am today.

From Student to Teacher

My faith and ethic identity both play a great role in my life as a practicing Muslim living in America. Growing up in a small Muslim community and attending a private Islamic institution, I was taught to always take pride in my faith and establish a solid identity as an active individual of my community. My interest in volunteering at ICCI stemmed from the fact that it was an unfamiliar environment in regards to not only location, but also in terms of it’s general background and the different customs practiced by the community members. Although this was quite intimidating at first, I’ve learned to appreciate this unfamiliarity for many reasons. The fact that I placed myself in an environment that I was not accustomed to allowed me to go beyond my comfort zone, try new activities, and learn about other individuals who I have never met. This, as a result, has made me more well rounded and has humbled me as an individual in so many different ways. Upon beginning my volunteer experience, I was greeted by teachers who displayed nothing but warmth and sincerity to a new face. In addition to this, it was inspiring and refreshing to observe such a tight-knit community work together in synchronization and not only display genuine care and concern for their own members, but those outside of the surrounding communities as well. This served as a tool for my future projects and illustrated that in order to succeed in anything at all; one must be considerate of others’ goals and needs in addition to their own.

My volunteer experience at ICCI has helped to solidify my Islamic and ethic identity as well as my role as an active member of my Muslim community back home. Upon reviewing the class material prior to teaching my students, it was great to refresh basic Islamic principles that I felt I was lacking and have not read about since my own days in Saturday school. It has allowed me to reflect on who I am as an individual and how I practice my religion within various different communities, including my academic, social, and religious communities. Volunteering at the ICCI Sunday school has also inspired me to continuously practice the same ethical and religious values that I teach my own students every Sunday. In addition to this, it has allowed me to evulatuate my present self: the rising Muslim undergraduate living in a society that may be critical of my beliefs and customs. With that being stated, I am more confident in engaging with others who are not very understanding of my faith. It has reinstated my pride for my ethnic and religious affiliation and has allowed to me determine the individual I aspire to become in the future.