Ever since last spring, one woman has stood out from the typical crop of campus leaders. Karima Ben Ayed has made a lasting impression on both the staff and students at Northern Virginia Community College’s Alexandria campus. Carrying the appellation of the most recent past-President of the International Club, Ben Ayed’s autograph covered many programs gathered by attendees at last year’s International Spring Festival.
The event was the most highly attended student-initiated function in recent NOVA history and was even more noteworthy because Ben Ayed raised the defunct International Club from a three-year-long period of inactivity to a juggernaut, able to mobilize the most creativity, curiosity and culinary expertise the student body may have ever seen.

To find out how this event materialized, one must look to Ben Ayed. She alone approached student services to resurrect the International Club last year. In an interview with NOVA Fortnightly staff, she described herself as someone driven to empower and support others in developing potential.

Starting a club with the vision to unite people from the entirety of the diverse cultures found throughout all five campuses fits her passion completely. Born in Tunisia, Ben Ayed benefited from a system of private schools where French was the primary language. She studied in France for a few years before she came to the United States, drawn to our country’s unique ethic of volunteerism.

Although she came to NOVA to major in business administration, Ben Ayed developed a focus on international education and training. A large part of this redirection was made as a result of organizing the International Club and taking an international communications class along with an American culture class. After forming the International Club and developing relationships that allowed the organization to get up and running Ben Ayed started planning the festival. All she knew when she got the go-ahead to revive the International Club was that she wanted be involved with something much bigger than herself; something that inspired her to action.

The International Club really came about when she met and recruited two students during club orientation week who were willing to make the commitment to spread information about the vision of an all-inclusive student club during NOVA Day. Ben Ayed insisted that NOVA Day, the appointed eighthours when student club members and leaders set up tables and share printed literature, images and personal conversation with fellow students, was the best time to spread information about the International Club.

Ben Ayed’s development of the organization and any events hinged on her seeing the organization as a people-centered group of individuals with their own ideas. She determined that all members needed to work together for a common purpose, to be active participants in the activities of the group and to take ownership of the activities themselves.

The International Club is first and foremost a group of people who value individuality. No individual is more important than any other in terms of navigating activities or events. No one person is the center of attention at any meeting or get-together.

Ben Ayed wouldn’t have had the process of developing the International Club any other way. She brought her ideas of building bridges between students together when they first sat down to draw a mission statement and, later, when they planned the Spring Festival. These two strategic processes taught her a great deal as well as prepared her to teach others how to form and run a group of empowered individuals.

Her strategy involved translating her idea of empowering people, into the open forums that made the International Club a successful entity. Through open discussions, each individual’s vision for the organization and expectations for the group were brought to light. No one that showed up for special planning sessions was left unheard. Everyone had something to contribute that led to forming an inclusive mission. Events, such as gatherings to watch Star Trek episodes, were planned around the mission and stayed true to the main course charted out by each individual member when they voted to approve the mission statement.

Ben Ayed said she learned that people never lack great ideas. It is the process of coming to consensus that leads to action. Until an idea can gain group support, it is merely as powerful as a wish. The key to forming a strategy for a club is developing group momentum behind the ideas supported by the majority of participants.

The best ideas are combined and expanded upon so that, hopefully, everyone not only feels like they were able to share their dreams, but also feels respected and moved to support the group’s course of action. The all-important key to success is finding oneself in a group of individuals who have cultivated team spirit and a team mentality that satisfies each individual’s needs and goals for participating in the club.

The whole process of creating a mission and strategic plan for the organization has taught Ben Ayed that she is a bridge-builder: she truly loves bringing people together. Organizations flourish because of their members, not just any one person. When each member is happy to participate and take responsibility for the success of a group, then more is possible. That lesson helped club members make Spring Festival a success. It also brought Ben Ayed personal success in her own life.

Ben Ayed has led the International Club since fall 2008 and is coaching the new president. When asked about what life lessons she’ll take with her after graduation from NOVA, Ben Ayed responded that she takes away the notion that synergy works miracles.

Synergy is not a word that you hear very often in daily life, but it is perhaps the most important characteristic of any relationship. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines synergy as a mutually advantageous conjunction or compatibility of distinct business participants or elements. Thus, it is safe to say that Ben Ayed has learned how people can connect to gain advantages for themselves and for others at the same time.

Looking back on an event that was much more successful than she dreamed, Ben Ayed felt that what made the event so wonderful was finding synergy between disparate groups of people. Respecting individual differences and recognizing personal similarities led to a creative interpersonal communications between faculty, the International Committee, and students. Brainstorming ideas for events was much easier when people felt they could be responsive and protective of each member of the group.

Promoting events was a breeze when faculty, students and staff spread the word about the event to others. Ben Ayed said she was impressed that handing out flyers in the cafeteria and having International Club members speak to other students was so effective. Faculty also encouraged students in their classes to attend the event, and they seemed excited to attend it themselves. Ben Ayed pondered: “This much enthusiasm for a cause, can lead only to good outcomes.”

The final lesson Ben Ayed spoke of learning through her experience was that NOVA is an amazing learning platform where people can get invaluable leadership training and support. She calls student organizations mini-labs for life. Students are free to try out things like leadership, teamwork and project management.

Perhaps the biggest piece of evidence that Ben Ayed’s achievement with the International Club and Spring Festival came from the synergy of the group and can be seen in the work she does now. She now holds a part-time position with the Student Activities office at Alexandria campus. Pat Gordon hired her to work to develop a one-day training course for incoming student leaders. Ben Ayed has also helped to develop a toolkit for leaders consisting of forms to help groups elect officers, organize events, and plan meetings. She is also working with Gordon to develop a new SDV class on leadership to be offered in the spring 2010 semester.

Ben Ayed’s success stems from her desire to nurture other people’s talents. By developing skills that build unity and cooperation among community groups at the Alexandria campus, she has fostered a new dimension of understanding and collectivism at the Northern Virginia Community College campuses.

By: Emily Pfister

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