Why I Chose EMU

Faraz Ansari: ‘Eastern became a second family to me.’

“I enrolled at Eastern simply because I earned scholarship funds,” says Faraz Ansari, who graduated in 2019 with a Business Finance degree and minor in Communication. “Over a short time, the people I met became like family. I formed deep relationships with my professors and made many lasting friendships. My Eastern experience shaped me into the person I am today.”

Ansari, who lives in Canton and is seeking a career in higher education, says exposure to students from different backgrounds added to his personal growth.

“I served as a Peer Mentor for first-generation, underrepresented students,” says Ansari. “I’d never really been exposed to students with that type of background. It gave me a different perspective on what it means to attend college.”

Cultural exchange

Friendships with students from across the globe added to the richness of the campus experience, Ansari says.

“I met students who were born and raised in Muslim countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia,” says Ansari, who served on the executive board of the Muslim Student Association and Student Government. “I began re-examining my own culture through their experiences. For my undergraduate symposium presentation, I focused on career choices made by first-generation immigrant college students and how they communicate their decisions with their parents.”

Ansari also incorporated global events into the campus experience. On one occasion, he organized a campus-wide vigil in memory of the victims of the 2019 mosque shootings in New Zealand.

“Eastern offers a very nice, sensualized space where you can really make an impact,” he says. “After just a couple years, I came to love the campus and its people.”