#2 People of The Year 2020: Samiat Ajibola

Samiat Ajibola is currently a Junior at University of Minnesota, majoring in Sociology. After months of nominating and selecting, we are so honorable to announce she is the second person on the list of People of The Year 2020. We are proud of her accomplishments and contributions to the U of M community.

SAMIAT AJIBOLA'S PROFILE:

VP of the Black Student Union

President of the Black Student Union

Ambassador of the Undergraduate Public Health Association

Liaison of African Student Association

Samiat usually starts her day by praying and reflecting. She then goes to work or attends classes. As the President of Black Student Union, she usually has 2-3 meetings a day. During these times, Samiat talks to the administration members & discusses the club’s progress. In the evening, she spends time reading and replying to emails. To relax at the end of the day, Samiat could either watch Netflix or read books.

In difficult times, especially in the middle the pandemic, Samiat thinks it is okay for us to sometimes feel alone, broken or sad. However, it is more important to gather ourselves at the end of the day and figure out what we should do about it. It is also important to make an impact in the community you are living in. It does not have to be big. Samiat uses her sociological knowledge to advocate for this: “There is actually a study about this. Everyone in the world is connected by 6 people. If you know someone and that person knows someone, you technically know the whole world. So if you impact 6 people, you are impacting the entire world!”

“You don’t have to do anything big. Be nice to your friends. Be kind to a stranger. You are changing the world!” - Samiat concludes.

In Samiat, we feel a positive and kind energy from her. She encourages us to focus on what we have in common rather than what we have in difference. She thinks people should be united and kind to each other more and more! Her kindness and thoughtfulness have spread the positivity to us and made us feel more hopeful.

We hope we all learn something from Samiat. Make an impact. Be kind to each other. Treasure what we have in common. Let’s make this world a better place together!

Samiat’s full article will be published in our upcoming magazine soon. Stay tuned!