The Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission to the USA recently named the Marymount University Saudi Students Association (SSA) as the third best Saudi Students Association among 300 Saudi Students Associations in the United States and number one in the Washington metropolitan area because of their highly effective participation inside and outside the Marymount University Community for the 2017-2018 school year.
“At the Saudi Students Association, we aim to help build a strong relationship between all the Saudi students at Marymount University,” said Abdulrahman Alhenaki, 19, 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 the Marymount University Saudi students with more than 160 volunteering opportunities, which they plan to do again this semester.
The SSA does 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 weekly game days to gather students on a regular basis.
The Saudi Students Association is not only limited to activities within Marymount University, but also the outside community. To this end, the Marymount SSA has partnered with many government organizations such as the Saudi Embassy, and the Saudi Cultural Mission as well as some 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 about the club’s ranking. “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.””
