Maryam Osman (Psychology, 4th year)

Q: First of all, how does it feel like to be a Muslim on the UBC campus? "I don’t really feel that different. I think one of the most interesting conversations that I have is like, when I personally try and share experiences of intersecting identities with Islam, for everyone they are not just Muslim. It is a very important part of their identity and I think sometimes you move between spaces, in some spaces you are seen visibly Muslim, but then in other spaces people might take your gender into account, in other spaces people might take your race and ethnicity into account." Q: So you feel that being on campus, you can be more than a Muslim? "I feel like, although my religion is something that is very visible, it’s not really the only component and it is really easy for me to demonstrate other aptitudes. But I think it’s really hard for those parts of you to come out when you are in Muslim spaces, because the only thing that seems to matter is shared faith and although that’s really important, I think it’s a lot harder to see the different interests and the other sides of people. Also there is so much we can contribute to UBC. Internally, I don’t think that there is stuff I can’t do because we are Muslim, and we shouldn’t subscribe to notions that there are limitations. You can do anything. The biggest contribution that you can make is just be visible in spaces where there aren’t many Muslims." Q: Is there one thing that you really enjoy doing on campus? "I am really, really passionate about the psychological research. I do a lot of research on traumatic stress disorder in refugee children and post-traumatic stress with parents who have experienced forced migration and how we can have interventions to help their mental health but also improve their relationship with their children. I think that our prophet (PBUH) is a really good example at parenting because he was very sensitive and compassionate and a lot of his characteristics overlap with parenting styles in applied development to psychology research and it is something that I really like to talk about all day long. I specifically like working with children a lot. That’s not really something a lot of people know about me because I feel like sometimes because I always have my headphones in and I am rushing from class to class that I am really stoic in a way. But yeah… it is a part of one of my interests that I literally just light up and I will talk about it forever." Q: If you could define yourself in one word, what would it be? "Adventurous. I think, the whole point of life is adventures and try different stuff… Just enjoying the ride." Q: What is a random thing that you fancy? "I really like cats and cinnamon buns. We could be having a conversation and someone says: “Hey I have some cinnamon buns”. The conversation has derailed, it’s done, it’s over."