Facilitator Corner: Omar Altoaimi

 

FIUTS Facilitators are student leaders from all over the world who welcome new international visitors, help organize events, and lead activities for hundreds of students each quarter. Read on to find out more about the FIUTS facilitator experience from Omar Altoaimi.

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Name: Omar S. Altoaimi   
Country: Saudi Arabia
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Class: Senior
FIUTS Facilitator Since: 2014

Brief Introduction: My name is Omar Altoaimi. I am from Alkhafji, a small town in Saudi Arabia at the Saudi-Kuwait border. I came to the US when I was 17 right after high school. My journey in the US started in the small city of Newark in the tiny state of Delaware where I took English as a Second Language courses at the University of Delaware. Later on, I completed the international students college preparation program at Boston University. After spending a total of 18 months on the east coast, I moved to Seattle for my undergrad study at UW. During my time in UW, I have had the chance to enjoy the Northwest nature. I have tried to make the most of my time here by enjoying hiking and water activities during the warm part of the year and skiing in the colder part of it.

What does it mean to be a FIUTS facilitator?
FIUTS means an environment where everyone is welcome and a place full of cultures and experiences. At FIUTS, I got the chance to interact with people from all over the world. Most importantly, I made worldwide lifetime friendships. All those international friends have different interesting stories to share -- after all, they are brave humans who made the decision to leave the comfort of home to live in a new unknown environment.

In addition, being a facilitator with FIUTS gave me an enormous opportunity to practice my leading skills. By leading a group of students to go skiing, hiking or even traveling to a new part of the country, I got the chance not only to make friends but also to practice planning, communication and leading. Thus, FIUTS is a place full of diversity, cultures and friendship as well as learning environment

Favorite FIUTS anecdote as a facilitator
I have plenty of favorite FIUTS events, so this part can go long, but I am just going to go briefly. I love outdoor activities, so I enjoyed all hiking and camping trips. Stevens Pass skiing is definitely one of the most enjoyable events. I also loved the CulturalFest events (both the performance and the booths).

Tips/comments for peer facilitators
My tip to facilitators is to take advantage of being in such a diverse environment. They should not only try to make events successful in terms of that everything goes smoothly (which is good and I encourage) but also try to make friendships, learn from others and most importantly enjoy their time.

 
Amy Bergstrom