Meet ابتسام (Ibtisam, pronounced “eeb-tee-sam”)

This persona is a fictional profile of a UMaine student. It was created using data to reflect the challenges, successes, and overall experiences of some of our students.

Young fair skinned woman wearing a headscarf (hijab) smiling gently at the camera

Age: 19 years old

Work: Subway in Old Town

Major: Chemistry sophomore

Family: Single, youngest of two siblings

Challenge: English Language Learner (ELL), Culture Shock, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Homesick

Languages spoken: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA), Syrian Arabic dialect, Lebanese Arabic dialect, French, English

Location: Orono, ME

Where is home? Right now, Lebanon, but Maine is starting to feel like home

Pronouns: She/her

Accessibility accommodations: None, uses closed captions whenever available

Ibtisam was born in Syria. Her family moved to Lebanon when she was a toddler and recently relocated to the Portland area as refugees. Ibtisam is a practicing Muslim. She joined several student groups, including the International Student Association, and regularly visits the Islamic Center of Maine, in Orono. That helps a little with her homesickness and culture shock. Even though Ibtisam and her family have been in Maine for a few years now, she is still learning and adapting to some of the differences between the culture she grew up with and the American culture here in Maine. Ibtisam has always loved chemistry and she is studying hard to achieve her goal to become a pharmacist.

“I am a bit of a perfectionist and I still struggle a bit with spelling in English. I like take-home assignments better because then I have an opportunity to go to the writing center before I turn anything in.”

“One of my professors makes a lot of references to TV shows and baseball. I don’t mind when it is just to make the class laugh, but when it is to draw an analogy, I often miss the point.”

“I know my name is hard to pronounce for English speakers but I wish people would try to learn it instead of looking at me as if I had three heads and asking if they can call me “Sam” instead. I don’t mind if they don’t pronounce my name perfectly, it’s just nice if they try.”

“Some of my professors share videos with us but the closed captions are all wrong. I like to turn on the closed captions because it helps me make sure I understand everything correctly. It also helps me learn how to spell technical words.”

“I don’t know if it is because I wear the hijab or if it is because I moved to the US only recently, but people often tell me to go to the Office of International Program for help, and I am technically not an international student anymore, and I will be eligible to apply for the American citizenship soon.”

  1. Accurate transcripts and captions on video recordings from classes so that she can use them for note-taking and comprehension.
  2. Faculty who allow her to record live classes
  3. Assignment due dates and turnaround times were scheduled in a way that allow time for her to consult with the writing center
  4. Allowing extensions or flexible deadlines in the LMS helped her perform well during Ramadan
  5. Faculty using name tags (in person) or self-naming (in Zoom) inviting the phonetic pronunciation of names and encouraging the use of names.

Many more students can benefit from these teaching strategies. Learn more about who benefits from these strategies.

“One of my professors asked us to write the phonetic pronunciation of our names on our Zoom profile and this has made a huge difference for me. Now, my classmates call me by my name when they speak to me.”

“I like it when professors ‘force’ us to work with different groups of students. This has helped me meet more of my classmates. When they don’t, I have noticed that students who weren’t born here and students of color often end up in the same group, maybe because we feel that we have more in common?”