Loughborough Student
About Yazeed Shomaly
If you need to find Yazeed Shomaly, you might find him in a gym or gaming with his friends. He is a Loughborough student, an athlete, a friend to many as well as my brother. His kindness and perseverance has helped me shape my identity, so I wanted to know what shaped him.
Compared to your other characteristics, how important to you is being a Loughborough student?
“This is one of the most important parts of my identity I believe, as it will shape up to how I will be in the future whether that is through a job opportunity or friends wise or personality-wise. Being a university student, especially in Loughborough is one of the most important characteristics I have as a student and as a person.”
How do you like Loughborough?
“I think Loughborough is amazing, as it has its own little bubble of a campus and a town. And it is the top sports university in the United Kingdom and arguably in Europe, making it very appealing for athletes and people that love playing sports such as myself as well as it has a great International Community of about 20% of the University's International and a lot of my friends are. Making it a nice closed-off bubble and a great place to be a part of.”
”How many languages do you speak?
“ I speak 4 at a quite high level. I speak English and Arabic fluently, as well as having studied German and Spanish at the ZIS for quite some time.”
Do you feel like you're more International than some people?
“Yes definitely, as I mentioned before about 80% of the campus is British. So one of the big differences automatically that you notice is the accent as more of an American accent due to American teachers at school at ZIS for example. As well as a lot of different, more traditional things. For example, as Christmas is coming around, they usually have Christmas roasts or Sunday roasts which is something that I have not been aware of before or is not familiar with in other parts of Europe such as Switzerland, but it all makes for a great learning experience.”
How were the people there?
“Very caring a lot of open minded people and as I said before a lot of international people. lots of my friends are international so we get along very well, as well as the British friends that I have coming from all different places in the United Kingdom making it a great place to be.”
Is there anything you don't like about Loughborough or something you would change about it?
“Not specifically, the town is a bit small, I wish it would have been bigger, for example like other campuses in Manchester or London. But I do believe it gives it a great quality as you know a lot of people there and the tight knitted community.” Going back to you saying you were more international.”
“How important to you is this part of your identity? This is one of the most important parts of my identity... ”
-Yazeed Shomaly
Have you ever been discriminated against or judged for being more international than others?
“Thankfully not as I mentioned before, lots of my friends and a lot of my friend group is international. As there is a small group of us that came from Switzerland alone. And even the British ones take more internationalism and foreignness as more of a learning experience rather than something to judge or make fun of. So we can teach them some things such as in Switzerland as well as they can teach us about British culture.”
Do you have any advice for people who will be going to university or specifically loughborough?
“One of the biggest things that I believe is to keep an open mind and to try new things. Whether that is a new sport or a new club or simply, for example, going out on nights out as that's the best place you are able to meet people especially new people make new friends that are potentially lifelong friends or doing new sports such as rugby, for example, is something very big in the UK which I've never been able to try before I end up try and get loving it quite well so simply just putting yourself out there makes a big difference.”
“One of the biggest things that I believe is to keep an open mind and try new things.”
-Yazeed Shomaly
