The Norman Transcript
May 09, 2008 12:23 am
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Transcript Staff
Rami Nyanat of Malaysia was selected as International Student for April by the Norman Lions Club, and she was the speaker for the club's regular meeting April 29. She is a sophomore in petroleum engineering at the University of Oklahoma with a dual minor in general business and French.
She is the club's first international student from Borneo, in Malaysia's eastern provinces where she was born. Her father is descended from the Dyak tribe of Sarawak, and her Chinese mother hails from Sabah.
The two provinces are important petroleum producers, and her father has been employed by the Shell Oil Company, now in Houston.
Nyanat has been very active in campus life. She campaigned successfully for her brother Kenah Nyanat as UOSA (University of Oklahoma Student Association) president, as a "hard-core supporter" for the first international student to win election to the office, and the first ever to be re-elected.
She has been active in the OU Cousins Program, which President David Boren inaugurated to pair international students with American counterparts, and she was named OU Cousin of the Year in 2007.
She has been an officer in IAC (international Advisory Council) which has brought her to the center of "our fantastic international culture. My experience with such a diverse group on camps has enriched my life and taught me to understand and appreciate the unique culture that every person has." Not only has she served as mistress of ceremonies, choreographer, and fashion model for her own Malaysian Night, but has helped with similar programs for Indonesia, Korea, Nepal, and Arab Nights. She exemplifies "internationalism" on the OU campus.
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