Sarah Shaaban looks to continue Alan Hooker’s vision of spreading the awareness to other graduates in the area about the Chicago Eastern Michigan University Alumni chapter.
Shaaban will officially succeed Hooker as president on March 5 during the EMU Alumni reception at the Chicago q. EMU president Susan Martin will also be on hand to present the Chapter of the Year award.
The alumni group was ecstatic to hear about the honor in mid-Feb.
“We were very excited once finding out about the honor,” Shaaban said. “We have worked hard to get people involved and it is great to see the results pay off.”
Shaaban, 29, graduated from EMU in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in psychology and received her Master’s degree in the same field from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology two years later.
Hooker knows the future is in good hands because of the effort Shaaban puts in to the chapter.
“People like Sarah and Wes (Stoody) have the same drive as me,” Hooker said. “It is always great to have like-minded individuals who share the same beliefs and vision.”
Hooker graduated from EMU in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism. During his time at Eastern, Hooker also worked at The Eastern Echo as a guest columnist from 1979-82 and helped give him a starting point.
“The Echo was a great experience for me,” Hooker said. “It gave me an opportunity to hone my skills as a writer.”
Founded on May 12, 1990, the Chicago EMU Alumni chapter has grown over the years and Hooker was glad to be a part of it as president from Oct. 2012 to March 2014.
“The chapter now has around 2,000 members which is spread out over 130 municipalities throughout Cook County in Illinois,” Hooker said. “It is very impressive to be able to cover that much territory.”
Compared to the University of Michigan and Michigan State University alumni chapters in Chicago, Hooker believes the EMU’s chapter shows more dedication.
“I truly believe in my heart that we have more passion and dedication than the other chapters here,” Hooker said.
The long-term vision for Shaaban is to create an even bigger community.
“I want to create more events such as social hours and start increasing financing,” Shaaban said. “Our hope is to raise enough money for scholarships in the near future for anyone who attends EMU.”
Information about the Chicago EMU Alumni Chapter:
The Chicago EMU Alumni reception event is on March 5 and begins at 5:30 p.m. (CT) and is $25 per person to RSVP. The location is at Chicago q on 1160 N. Dearborn St. in Chicago. To RSVP, please contact the Alumni office at (734) 487-0250 or at emich.edu/alumni by tomorrow (Feb. 28).
For more information on becoming a board member or to find out about future alumni meetings, contact Sarah Shaaban at sarah.shaaban@gmail.com.
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