Omar Abbas

COL ’15
Age: 20
Hometown: Panama
Major: Economics and Government

What do you do on campus?
I actually work off campus, so I dedicate the time I have outside of school to that. I work at a consulting and fundraising firm for Democratic campaigns in D.C. We do donor research. We look through campaigns and promote them on their social media platforms if they have targeted demographics. We crunch the numbers and see what areas need better help. I actually transferred to Georgetown as soon as I possibly could and started with the firm two or three months after I got here.

Tell me more about the transfer experience. Was it smooth?
I was lucky to get all of my credits transferred. I came from Wesleyan University — a smaller environment that was really fun, but it was on the completely opposite side of the spectrum for me. There was a tradeoff between a full on college town and campus experience versus a city where there’s so much more to do and opportunities to get involved. That’s basically why I transferred. Georgetown was in touch with me from day 1; I even got an interview in the middle of rural Connecticut, which felt like a privilege. Coming here was definitely a smart move considering what I was studying and the opportunities being in D.C.

What do you find most frustrating about Georgetown?
The thing I most dislike about Georgetown are the rats. But more seriously, it’s the gap between international students and American students, particularly Latinos. I’m Latino, as in I speak Spanish because I grew up in Panama, but physically I’m not a Latino, so I get to move around and meet more people. I’m lucky that way too. English is also my first language so it’s not too bad. But this gap has always frustrated me because we’re all making the effort to leave our countries and you get here and you stay within your comfort zone. I don’t blame people for that but it kind of ticks me off. It’s a conversation that everyone has.

What do you like most about Georgetown?
The fact that it’s a campus within a city. I had it in my head that when I went to college I would have to pick between a city and the campus feel and I was between Georgetown, UVA and NYU when I transferred. Those are three ends of the spectrum. I picked Georgetown obviously. It’s very reputable and it’s cool to walk out of my class to see Secret Service detail walking around. Madeleine Albright is a teacher and you have the Colombian president as a teacher. That kind of thing makes it a valuable experience.

What do you hope Georgetown will help you accomplish?
I hope that it will make me look at current events and make me look at politics and the way the world works on a deeper level. I want to be able to read something that happens on the news and think, “OK, this is the result of what policies? How is this going to affect the world? What are its full long term and short term implications? Are they going to sit well? Will I be able to do anything about it?” I hope that Georgetown will give me a critical eye to anything, not just global events but also in conversation. I hope it will make me think at a deeper level and make me a critical thinker. I think it’s done a good job so far. All the required courses like ethics and theology are so annoying but at the end of the day they do expand your way of thinking. They give you a different lens to look at things through. I think that’s really useful and Georgetown promotes that.

Do you feel you fit in at Georgetown?
I feel that I do fit in. I feel that the community is very diverse and I add to that and I’m in it too. A lot of kids came here from my high school and introduced me to everyone. I was lucky to have that because as a transfer it’s kind of difficult.

Where are you from? Compare and contrast it to Georgetown. Where are you more comfortable?
I was born in Ottawa, Canada. I moved to Panama a month later and was raised there but my parents are from Pakistan. So I guess I’m from Panama. People in Panama have a very low tolerance for things that are different to what they’re accustomed to. They’re not susceptible to change or things or people that they don’t know or haven’t interacted with. In college and in Washington you meet these people who can relate to everyone. Everyone is coming to school and we are on the same page of, “Let’s meet people, build our network, focus on classes too.” You meet people who are openly super Republican or people who are gay and people who travel a lot and have very different perspectives and different cultures. That’s not an interaction you get back home. It’s a closed-minded, small community where everyone knows everyone. You say a last name and it’s like, “It’s whoever’s cousin,” and you know where they live and what car they drive. It’s very divided by class pretty disparately — it’s kind of like the whole country is run by four families and everyone knows what people are doing and where they’re traveling and keeps tabs. You don’t have that judgment here. It’s a much bigger country and has so many more different people that you literally just do what you want and no one is keeping tabs on you. That’s the biggest difference.

What’s the hardest decision you’ve ever made?
Transferring. When I got to Wesleyan, first semester my gut told me I needed to get out, that it wasn’t the school for me, largely because I found it difficult to adapt to all the change at first. Then I applied to all new schools first semester and halfway through next semester I had my house set up, I had made all of my friends and I hadn’t told my friends I was going to transfer yet. March came and I had gotten into all my schools. It was like, “Should I leave now I have my life set up for me?” I was at a small school in Connecticut that’s designed for studying — you take nine extracurriculars because you have so much time; I thought maybe I should take advantage and pump up my resume. But then I thought, “Am I really going to be happy?” That’s when I decided to transfer. As soon as I got here and had a phase where I wanted to go back. I did question if transferring was the right call but now I look back and I’m like, “Yeah of course.”

What’s your greatest fear?
I’m fearless. I try not to be the person that freaks out about my career. I really reason through it. I know that at the end of the day, my biggest fear could be getting a job when I graduate, but I know if it doesn’t happen it will take me a couple of months more and I’ll still get it. I can mentally accommodate for the second best option.

If you could lead a protest on one thing, what would it be?
Definitely on climate change or something green. I feel strongly about pollution and littering. I grew up by the ocean so I’ve seen dead sea life on my way to school. I would see dead cats and dogs in the middle of the street next to an empty garbage can. So I take that pretty seriously.

Interviewed by Braden McDonald