Courageously stepping into the role of R.A.

When Housing and Residence Life asked Mohammed Humadi to step into the role of resident advisor last spring – as a first-year student and a full semester earlier than planned – he did what courageous leaders do. He said yes—and then he went to work building community and bringing people along.

His nominator wrote, “Mohammed goes out of his way to interact with residents so they feel welcome and comfortable at Virginia Tech. He stops and talks to them in the hall, leaves his door open so they feel free to come say hi, interacts with them outside the residence hall, and is planning hall hangouts for the rest of the semester. While leading, Mohammed focuses on his core values of fairness, responsibility, and respect.”

His nominator continued, “Mohammed helps his residents deal with personal, hall, and educational issues by communicating with them and understanding their individual situations. He understands that the first year, or any year, can be stressful for various reasons and hopes to help in any way he can to alleviate some stress by providing resources and ideas for how students can seek help and participate in the community.”

Mohammed says he applied to be an R.A. to gain leadership experience. But applying took courage.

He wrote, “I'm a very introverted person, so it was really difficult to come out of my shell at first. Once I did and started looking around for organizations to join and roles that I believed I could fill well, I applied!”

Mohammed is serving as an R.A. again this year and says the role has helped him learn that it is important to listen to those who may have different perspectives. He wrote, “When you start to understand the other side, you start to realize that they typically want the same thing as you, but they may have different methods that you can compromise on.”

He shared that the highlights of his experience at Virginia Tech have been seeing his residents grow and serving on Sigma Phi Epsilon’s scholarship committee.

His nominator wrote, “Mohammed embodies the aspiration for courageous leadership by seeking out leadership positions that can help him have an impact on his community. He is an active and effective peer leader. No matter what leadership position he is in, he hopes to build an environment of mutual respect with his residents or team and an understanding of his responsibilities as a leader so everyone understands the reasons behind his actions. Valuing respect, fairness, and responsibility as a leader allows him to adapt to new situations and effectively lead groups of people in different organizations and settings.”