Local

Marymount Saudi Student Association ranked No. 1 in DC area

Special To The Catholic Herald

The Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission to the United States recently named the Marymount University Saudi Student Association (SSA) as the third best Saudi Student Association in the United States among 300 and number one in the Washington metro area. This designation celebrates their highly effective participation inside and outside the Marymount community for the 2017-18 school year.

“At the Saudi Student Association, we aim to help build a strong relationship between all the Saudi students at Marymount University,” said Abdulrahman Alhenaki, a senior and president of the Marymount University SSA. “One of our main goals is to empower Saudi students by providing them with volunteering opportunities to help them apply the knowledge they get from the classroom and develop the skills they need in order to achieve their desires.”

Between August and December 2018, the SSA provided Marymount Saudi students with more than 160 volunteering opportunities, which they plan to do again this semester.

The SSA leads a variety of events during the semester within the school such as hosting the Saudi National Day, which is a chance to show off the image and culture of the country. Additionally, the club hosts “edutainment” activities that focus on developing added-value skills for students, such as workshops in graphic design, makeup and leadership. The association also has weekly sports activities and game days to gather students on a regular basis.

The association also partnered with government organizations such as the Saudi embassy, and the Saudi Cultural Mission, as well as non-profit organizations such as Fasilah to assist with major events. Marymount students assisted with events such as Eid al-Fitr, Eid al-Adha and 88th Saudi National Day with the Saudi embassy, the Global Youth Peace Dialogue Conference, and the Youth Entrepreneurs Seminar with Fasilah.

“I believe that the small and diverse community played a great deal in our achievement,” Alhenaki said. “Also, the SSA would not have achieved this without the great work of its team and the volunteers who spent hours preparing and organizing the activities and events.”

Related Articles