Zainah Abu Lubdeh is a rising senior majoring in supply chain management at the Eli Broad College of Business with a minor in environmental and sustainability studies. As MSU continues to expand opportunities for cultural learning and engagement, students like Adu Lubdeh are helping shape how Arab American voices and experiences are represented on campus.
One of my least favorite questions is “Where are you from?”
I’ve learned to keep multiple answers ready, depending on how much time and confusion I’m willing to entertain. I could say Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where I was born, but I have never really felt connected to it. I could say Okemos, Michigan, where I grew up, which is technically true, but not really the full story.
Or I could say I’m Palestinian, from Haifa, though that usually comes with a follow-up explanation where I’m expected to condense decades of history into a 10-second snippet of small talk without getting into the depressing history or current events. My go-to answer, however, has always been Palestine. And if you’ve ever met a Palestinian, you know we’ll take any chance we get to talk about it.
That’s how I’ve always understood my identity as an Arab American. It’s something I carry with a lot of pride, but also something that’s never been easy to explain or fit neatly into a single space. That reality followed me throughout my years at MSU. It followed me into the large lecture halls and social spaces where I try to connect with people. It followed me into conversations with friends when I realized just how different my experiences were. I found myself feeling unrepresented even in spaces that were meant to be inclusive and diverse. Recognition months, like Arab American Heritage Month, provide an opportunity to acknowledge the complexity behind identities like mine, identities that cannot be summed up in a single label or box.
That mindset started to shift when I became more involved in building communities rather than just trying to find them.
That led me to help establish Beta Kappa Mu, the first Muslim sorority at Michigan State. I truly feel that BKM is one of a kind because rather than focusing on conformity, we celebrate each other’s differences. Our diversity of thought, background and beliefs is what makes the sorority meaningful.
We created a space where Muslim women can fully participate in the college experience without feeling like they have to compromise any part of who they are. More importantly, we built a community of women who show up for each other, with understanding and a shared sense of belonging that never feels forced.
One of our proudest achievements this year is hosting our first-ever Sudanese Synergy Summit, a two-day event aimed at spotlighting the Sudanese diaspora and educating people about the ongoing genocide in Sudan. As a Palestinian, I’ve grown up understanding what it means to have your struggle undermined and diminished, and because of that, I feel a responsibility to stand alongside others facing similar struggles. For me, being Arab has never just been about identity. It is also about solidarity and showing up for others in the same way you hope people would show up for you.
Overall, I think Arab American Heritage should matter to more people, especially in a time when stereotyping and bias are so common. We need more dialogue about our cultures and experiences. The more we expose ourselves to different perspectives, the less likely we are to fall into generalizations, misinformation or the villainization of entire groups of people.
At the end of the day, West Asia is incredibly diverse and there is no single “Arab experience.” Every person carries a unique story. Recognizing that is what allows us to move beyond assumptions and toward genuine understanding. And for students like me, that recognition can be the difference between feeling like you have to explain yourself and finally feeling seen.
