SAN MARCOS \u2014 After 18 years in higher education, Hossna Sadat Ahadi found out last month that she had won a national award just days after receiving notice that she was a finalist for a regional award.<\/p>\n
The honors were well-deserved, say Sadat Ahadi\u2019s students and colleagues, who have come to know her as an advocate for some of Palomar\u2019s most underprivileged students.<\/p>\n
To date this year, Sadat Ahadi has won the \u201cUnder 40\u201d award from the American Association of Women in Community Colleges (AAWCC), and has been named one of four finalists for the \u201cWomen to Watch\u201d award by Connected Women of Influence (CWI), a regional association of female executives and professionals.<\/p>\n
Both organizations were planning award ceremonies this spring\u2014including a March 29 event in Maryland for which she already had a plane ticket\u2014but both were postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 social distancing measures. Sadat Ahadi said the AAWCC ceremony was rescheduled for October, and the San Diego \u201cWomen to Watch\u201d winner is scheduled to be announced in August.<\/p>\n
Sadat Ahadi came to Palomar as a part-time counselor in 2016, and started her full-time counseling faculty position in January 2018. Today, she is an assistant professor and counselor in the general counseling department. She is on the Guided Pathways Committee, Student Equity and Achievement Council, and General Education Workgroup Committee.<\/p>\n
From the beginning, she recalled, \u201cI was interested in what we\u2019re doing to support students who have ongoing barriers and are racially minoritized.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among her duties at the college, Sadat Ahadi leads professional development workshops focused on racial equity on campus, drawing on her \u201cbackground in social justice and human rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said Palomar has already made bold strides to improve equity: \u201cWe not only provide professional development (for faculty and staff), but we also provide a platform for diverse students to partake in the decision-making process. We\u2019re always looking to include students, so we hear and consider the student narrative, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sadat Ahadi said she was humbled to receive back-to-back awards\u2014for which she was nominated by her students\u2014and hopes to keep moving forward on issues of racial equity at Palomar.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m also very hopeful that there will be opportunities for more women of color in academia to receive acknowledgement for their own efforts, and to empower their colleagues to continue to scale racial equity in the education system,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"