NUSTIAN USA 2nd All Hands Behind the Scenes: Know Your Team

Ladies and gentlemen, here we are, an end of another year, 2020 — the year of pandemic, the unprecedented year! This year may have many different meanings for you, but for NUSTIAN USA, this is the year of transitions. Yes that’s right, it’s NUSTIAN USA 2020 elections time. Of course you all know it already, and we hope that you have nominated yourself for exciting roles. But did you know that we are also hosting another exciting all hands meeting? Mark your calendars, and save the date, because you don’t want to miss this at any cost. This time, it’s much more fun and exciting and we have an amazing day planned out for you!

You have read about our volunteers and team in our previous blogs — who they are, where they are from, what are their responsibilities. But this time we have decided to take it up a notch. In this article, we will show you what’s happening behind the scenes. Who makes all of this possible and how!

It all starts with just an idea, ‘Do you think it’s time we should meet our members again? There should be a fun evening’. ‘Yes, why not, who would like to get involved in organizing the event?’

So, we come up with a team of organizers. Some of us are volunteering to host and moderate the event, while others are reviewing this year’s achievements to recognize the volunteers and share stats with members. Some members have created the videos and blogs content, and some of them have been assigned to edit and enhance the content. And we have saved the best for the last — a number of our team members have designed fun games and creative quizzes for the meeting!

Let us now take a look and hear from our volunteers.

Tahir Khattak — Lead Moderator and Host

Tahir Khattak graduated from MCE in 2008 and is currently working as Program Manager at the US Department of Transportation Transit administration.

Tahir is our Lead Moderator for the event. He oversees the agenda and coordinates with team members to plan accordingly.

He believes giving back should be part of our life goals and there is nothing better to volunteer for what is most meaningful. The NUSTIAN USA mission is the most important and meaningful for Tahir. He believes volunteering not only helps others but also helps you grow your management and coordination skills — a great way to contribute, learn and lead!

Tahir is very energetic and is excited to see and hear from Nustians across the USA at the 2nd all hands meeting. He is cordially inviting you all to the event through this video message.

Syed Ali Imran — Co-host and Games Moderator

Syed Ali Imran is an accountant at Safety NetAccess Inc. He graduated from NUST Business School in 2012.

He is excited to host the All hands meeting and will also take the mic for our games section! He has planned a series of fun games and exciting activities to complete the night!

‘’NUSTIAN USA All Hands meeting is an amazing platform where we get to showcase all the projects that the team is currently working on and get real time feedback from the NUST community. It also enables everyone from NUST, whether working or studying, to connect’’, says Imran.

Volunteering for NUSTIAN USA has helped Imran connect to some of the most amazing people from NUST who he thinks he would have never met if it wasn’t for NUSTIAN. He thinks of those Nustians as a family away from home. Volunteering helps him try out new things and take on responsibility for the things he wouldn’t have tried otherwise.

Syed Ali Imran doesn’t want you to miss this fun event, please watch his special video message where he has given a preview of his section.

Yusra Farhatullah — Co-host and Chat moderator

Yusra is a graduate of EME, DE-29 Mechanical (class of 2011). She is currently pursuing a PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

She will share information on the new NUSTIAN USA initiatives during the All Hands Event and will be moderating the chat window. She is also the content editor and helps edit the videos for All Hands.

‘’NUSTIAN is a medium for me through which I can give back to the community. It has invested in me and made me who I am today. I volunteer whatever little amounts of time and skill that I can, because I believe that no work is small, and every little bit counts’’, says Yusra.

Everyone likes to take the lead on big things but Yusra believes it’s the little things that bring everything together into a cohesive whole. Volunteering at NUSTIAN USA, as well as the immense support and love from her fellow volunteers, has helped her learn to appreciate that in other parts of life.

Muneeba Khalid — Co-host

Dr. Muneeba Khalid is an Applied Bioscientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and she graduated from ASAB in 2019.

Muneeba will be hosting the election section of the all hands meeting and will be introducing nominations. She will also provide an insight into the NUSTIAN USA vision moving forward.

Muneeba believes that volunteering for the 2nd all hands is like hosting a dinner for her friends and family since it is an effort to gather the NUSTIAN community.

Volunteering for NUSTIAN USA has made her more open to answering questions for alumni and providing assistance to those in need. For Muneeba, this is an amazing learning experience as she believes that helping/assisting others, even though little, can go a long way.

‘’It’s often said that ‘We serve God by serving others’. Therefore, I believe helping each other is one of our greatest powers. Most importantly, the youth voice is crucial to the overall effectiveness of this service. We must pass on the torch and train ourselves to begin contributing to the cause at an early age’’, says Muneeba. You can watch her video message here.

Anum Iqbal — Co-host

Anum Iqbal graduated from SEECS in 2010 and currently is a stay-at-home mom. She will be sharing her experience of working with NUSTIAN USA as a host for Fireside Chat Series.

She wants fellow Nustians to register, participate and help shape the future of our community.

‘’NUSTIAN USA is a network of like-minded professionals with a goal of supporting and building each other. It gives me a platform to help others from my experience and in turn grow from others’ experience’’, says Anum.

Recently, she has been on a career break and volunteering helps her stay connected with fellow alumnus and contribute something meaningful to the community. She has recorded a video message for Nustians which can be seen here.

Arslan Qadeer — Chat Moderator

Arslan Qadeer, is a graduate of NUST SEECS with a Masters in information technology class of 2017 and is currently pursuing PhD in electrical engineering from the City college of New York.

He will moderate the chat window and help answer audience’s questions.

He tries to bring Nustians together who are away from home. This opportunity enables our members to not only get to know each other but also helps to network with highly professional members working in the industry and academia.

NUSTIAN USA has helped him grow at many levels. It provides various forums where experts talk about research or industry related issues on a daily basis. These insightful discussions helped Arslan learn a lot. He thinks CAFE is the best medium to stay up to date with current affairs.

Arsalan’s message to fellow Nustians is to join NUSTIAN USA and become a helping hand in order to give back to the community. He is an active volunteer and wants you all to join the cause.

You can watch Arslan’s message on Youtube. Can you beat this excitement level?

Fatima Quddos — Graphic Designer

Fatima Quddos, a 2018 graduate of ASAB, NUST, is currently a PhD student at Virginia Tech pursuing research in biomedical sciences.

She is our one and only graphic designer and designs amazing posters for the event. She is also designing certificates and badges, to appreciate our very special members of NUSTIAN family who have put in a lot of effort to build this community.

Fatima believes that we start living when we start thinking beyond ourselves. Being a graduate student, she has a tough schedule but she is dedicated to the cause of bringing the community together. ‘’I volunteer because it gives me satisfaction thinking that I play a little role in making a life better somewhere. Not only that, the acceptance and familial feeling of belonging to a close-knit community is a blessing’’, says Fatima.

You can see Fatima’s dedication to NUSTIAN USA and her excitement for All hands in her beautiful designs and poster invites.

Saira Tabassum — Content Editor and Instagram Manager

Saira Tabassum is an S3H graduate of Mass Communication class of 2014. She currently works as a proposal writer at Zscaler Inc.

Saira shares updates on NUSTIAN USA social media (Instagram) and reviews communication content, and blogs.

Volunteering for NUSTIAN USA helps her stay connected to her roots and provide opportunities to meet some of the most brilliant and smart people in the community.

‘’I have been with NUSTIAN for more than 2 years and for me NUSTIAN is a home away from home. You will find in this diverse community amazing mentors, coaches, sisters, brothers, friends and well-wishers. NUST alumni in the US show a strong sense of commitment for the organization and they strive hard to provide help whenever it’s needed’’, says Saira.

Check out our latest exciting post shared by Saira on instagram.

So, you have learned about all our volunteer team, but that’s not it. We all meet every weekend via zoom, track our progress, update the action items and keep reviewing the agenda, unless we all agree that this is the best we could do. We have been planning this event for a month now.

As much as we all miss the good old days, the NUSTIAN conference, and the meet ups, we are also very excited about new opportunities such as All Hands, where we can bring all of you together, no matter where you are — whether in the deserts of Arizona, or the beaches of Florida. From north to south, and from east to west, this All Hands is to celebrate YOU as a NUSTIAN, and as a community!

Do you love connecting with fellow alumni? This all hands is for you.

Do you love to volunteer for exciting opportunities? This all hands is for you.

Do you love playing games and want to have a fun evening? This all hands is for you.

Whether you have nominated yourself for upcoming elections, or want to show some support to the nominees, you don’t want to miss this evening.

Let’s come together and take home the best memories of 2020, because ‘aap hein tou hum hein’.

And last but not the least, bid farewell to your favorite NUSTIAN USA leadership, who have worked so hard for the past few years and have created so many beautiful memories for us.

What was your best 2020 NUSTIAN USA moment? For us, it was learning and welcoming new ways to bring all of you together.

Once again, shout out to our volunteers. We can’t wait to see you all. Let’s make it an unforgettable experience.

BECAUSE ‘AAP HEIN TOU HUM HEIN’ ❤️

Don’t forget to sign up here for an exciting ‘shaam’ 😀

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This article is written by Sara Sultan