Editor’s Note: As we celebrate African Heritage Month in February, we’re proud to spotlight some of our own people, Black culture, contributions, and history. Here, we meet Islam Ahmed, a third year StFX public policy and governance student, who is Sudanese and grew up in Qatar. Mr. Ahmed is very involved in the campus community, serving as a Black Student Peer Mentor, as the Students’ Union representative for Students of African Descent and as a Community Assistant at Governor’s Hall. He’s also a member of the President’s Action Committee on Anti-Racism.
Expanding world views, and giving back to StFX: meet StFX student Islam Ahmed
“I see strength in people who are able to diversify their views. That’s a powerful thing.”
Ask StFX student Islam Ahmed what has most marked his time at StFX, and the answer is easy. Growth.
When Mr. Ahmed, who is Sudanese and grew up in Qatar, arrived on campus to study public policy and governance, he knew a bit about Canada, but nothing about Nova Scotia.
Arriving in Antigonish, and at StFX, was a huge adjustment, particularly the weather. “Qatar is a desert,” he says. “The freezers in our homes can only go as low as –11. The weather here can go colder than our freezer is able to at home.”
While that was the biggest adjustment, there were others along the way—including his wardrobe and learning about hockey. Although a huge sports fan, he had never watched the sport before. In the classroom, many courses were immersed in a Canadian context. Growing up a world away, he didn’t have an easy familiarity with this. “It was almost like a history/present lesson,” he says.
“Everything was a learning experience.”
But that was also partly what drew him here.
The thing that appealed?
“The mystery.”
Mr. Ahmed, and his brother Mohammed, who graduated from StFX in 2020 with an engineering degree, first learned of StFX at students in Qutar. A councillor at their school had attended StFX and when she mentioned the university, he says it fit into what they were looking for.
For him, the interdisciplinary nature and versatility of the public policy and governance program interested.
“I had some idea of Canada, but this place I knew nothing about. This place is very far from everything I grew up with. I can only grow from here. This is uncharted territory,” he says.
“I absolutely love it.”
That growth and ability to adapt is part of the reason why.
“Everything was an experience from the get-go. It’s a whole new world.”
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Mr. Ahmed created a strong network of friends, and he’s become involved in the StFX community.
He’s currently a community advisor (CA) in Governor’s Hall and works as a Black Student Peer Mentor. He serves on the Students’ Union as the representative of Students of African Descent and he was a teaching assistant last semester for an Arabic language class. In addition, he is a student member of StFX’s President’s Action Committee on Anti-Racism (PACAR.) He’s also been involved in several societies, including Model United Nations, and in soccer and volleyball.
After settling into the StFX community, he says he wanted to give back and share some of his experiences to help others.
“Being at this university, where it is easy to get involved, it is important to take advantage of this opportunity to contribute, and also to learn new skills.”
As a Black Student Peer Mentor, he offers informal support from a student perspective and helps organize campus events, like the recent StFX All-Star weekend. Student mentors, he says, are people who can relate to what fellow students are going through and can help them find resources.
“I really like it,” he says. “It’s a rewarding job. These are years that stay with you. If we can contribute to making this (university) experience sweeter for people, that’s great.”
Mr. Ahmed says it sounds cliché, but more and more he is realizing that university is what you make it.
He says coming here helped expand his world view. He grew up somewhere that has a dominant culture and now being far away from family, the food, the weather, and everything he is used to, it’s helped expand his knowledge.
This February, during African Heritage Month, he says attending and celebrating events is important as these activities can help open the world for others and give them a taste of another world view.
“The importance of African Heritage Month lies in spreading that knowledge,” he says, “to help people who are in isolated communities expand their view of the world, just like I expanded my view of the world. I urge everyone to attend the events we have lined up. I would love to see people simply show up.
“We have all these events. They do play a big part in making this community stronger and more diverse. To me, those two things are linked. I see strength in people who are able to diversify their views. That’s a powerful thing.”
