Meet the CECS and COB Graduation Speaker: Hiba Qamar

The reason I applied for graduation speaker is because at first, when I found out about the opportunity, I wanted to be able to represent my fellow classmates of the class of 2019. This was super important to me, because before, the University had said that they were going to cancel it. So now that the graduation ceremony was going to be occurring this December, it became even more important to me. I wanted to be able to share my experiences and the fact that many students struggle with understanding that you’re not supposed to just follow a job description, but rather, you should be defining your career by your passion and I feel like a lot of people forget that. And I wanted to be able to share that with others since this is something that many students can relate to. What student organizations have you been involved in? I have been involved in the American Marketing Association. I was director of fundraising. I have also been involved with Women in Business and Talent Gateway. What is one piece of advice you wish you had known as a freshman? One piece of advice that I wish I had known as a freshman is the fact that when you first start school, you think that your grades are going to really define the end — for graduation and everything. But at the end of the day, when you’re a student at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, it’s more of trying to find who you are as a person and trying to identify what your passion even is. I would say that just struggling to understand what your ambitions are in life is something that many freshmen struggle with. But at the end of the day, those ambitions are just values you technically carry with you, and that’s what becomes your motives. I wish someone told me that from the beginning. What is your favorite campus memory? My favorite campus memory has to be with the American Marketing Association. Everyone in that organization becomes like family to one another. Every meeting that we attend together, we try to find opportunities that we can all be involved with and we try to make connections that can last a lifetime. I feel like that was very important to me. Qamar with members of the American Marketing Association. Photo//Hiba Qamar Where do you see yourself in 5 years? In five years, I do want to do something that I can see a result or difference in something that I made myself. I know right now that I really want to be involved in the automotive field. I come from an automotive family, so that’s just one of my passions — something that I grew up with and always being involved with. And in five years, I really hope Im able to help do something whether it’s with electric vehicles or how we’re defining the industry itself. I really want to be a big part of that.