Student Spotlight: Lilly Abdulrohman Mohamed, College of Management and Technology

The Walden University Writing Center is privileged to work with talented students. In the Student Spotlight Series, we aim to support incredible work our students do, both in and out of the classroom. The goal of the Student Spotlight Series is to provide the Walden community with a place to build bridges and make connections by developing shared understanding of the diverse and varied student journey. Students share stories about their writing process, their efforts towards social change, and their motivations for pursuing higher education. We ask questions, and students generously answer.

This Student Spotlight features Lilly Abdulrohman Mohamed, student of the College of Management and Technology.

What prompted you to pursue your Doctor of Business Administration degree at Walden?

Pursuing a doctoral degree has always been a dream of mine. However, once I started working after obtaining my master’s degree, it started to seem like a far-fetched goal as a result of the busy work schedule I faced. Luckily, as I was exploring online doctoral study options, I discovered Walden University. The proposed study plan, faculty, and flexibility offered by the program at Walden finally enabled me to leap into my dream of obtaining a doctoral degree.

What are you planning to research and write about for your doctoral study project, and what do you anticipate are the social change impacts of your study for yourself and others?

I am planning to write about the relationship between leadership and innovation. I believe that leadership has the power to introduce positive organizational effects, such as increased innovation. Therefore, through understanding the type of leadership that is conducive to positive organizational factors, it is possible to introduce positive social impacts. Furthermore, I currently find myself in a leadership position as Deputy CEO of at my place of employment. Therefore, I am looking for ways to enhance my ability to positively influence people through my leadership. One of my long term goals is to become an entrepreneur. Therefore, leadership and innovation are highly relevant to me.

Lilly, smiling

How do you hope to apply the work you’ve done as a student to the work you will do after graduating?

I plan to apply the lessons I obtain on leadership to alter my personal management style to result in a positive workplace environment. In addition, I hope to elevate the performance of the company I work for by enhancing the level of innovation through the use of leadership. I am inspired by social initiatives that target wealth creation for low-income communities, and I am interested in initiatives that introduce employment and entrepreneurship opportunities to help communities sustain themselves financially. This connects to the work I do because the company I work for targets job creation and equality of representation of women in the workplace. In addition, my organization train employees to ensure that their employment prospects and earning potential are improved. My education at Walden is enabling me to obtain an in-depth understanding of the importance of introducing a social mission into all of the activities we engage in.

What successes have you had at Walden so far, and how have you overcome challenges you’ve faced?

So far at Walden, I have been able to develop my APA and academic writing skills. In addition, I have been able to perform well in my classes through the guidance and feedback I have received from the faculty at Walden. However, one of the main challenges I have faced is my work and travel schedule. Although it can still be difficult to manage my time efficiently, I have developed this skill a great deal. I am now able to pre-plan and identify how to adjust my schedule to meet my deadlines. Additionally, some of the countries I have visited for work often have internet restrictions, meaning that my access to the student portal and myPASS has been cut off. However, my faculty and the Writing Center have been extremely cooperative, enabling me to continue my program and receive support.

You started using the Writing Center almost immediately when you started your DBA program. What drew you to using the Writing Center, and what Writing Center resources have you found the most beneficial?

I was drawn to the Writing Center initially as I was unfamiliar with APA guidelines and requirements. Once I started booking appointments with a writing instructor through myPASS, the reviews I received revealed the benefits of gathering more information on academic writing. I have benefited from paper reviews by finding my academic voice and focusing on forming my thesis statement. Some of the most useful lessons I have learned are proofreading strategies, building an APA complaint reference section, forming strong thesis and topic sentences, and using the MEAL plan for paragraph formation. The Writing Center has helped me and continues to help me strengthen my academic writing skills. In addition, I continue to learn and expand my knowledge base on APA guidelines.

How do you find the time to make appointments each week, and what additional resources would you recommend to your fellow students?

I have continued to frequent paper review appointments with the Writing Center from the first time I experienced them at Walden. I found that the instructors, through the paper reviews, offered feedback that was immensely beneficial to me. Therefore, that has motivated me to keep making appointments week after week. In addition to paper reviews, I often utilize Grammarly and it helps me to go through the notes provided on the Writing Center’s grammar webpages. I recommend that my fellow students use the Writing Center’s paper review services and Grammarly to receive writing support.

Keep tuning into the blog to read more posts in our Student Spotlight Series, and consider using our paper review services and Grammarly to support your writing, as Lilly kindly suggested here.

The Walden Writing Center provides information and assistance to students with services like live chat, webinars, course visits, paper reviews, podcasts, modules, and the writing center webpages. Through these services they provide students assistance with APA, scholarly writing, and help students gain skills and confidence to enhance their scholarly work.

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