Growing up, Amina Ayad saw her family host so many visitors from other countries that she jokingly referred to her home as "Hotel Ayad." Small wonder that she dreamed of a career in the foreign service, as a diplomat, or with "the place with all the flags," the United Nations.

Ayad, who speaks fluent Arabic, knows some Italian and French, and is currently learning Turkish, graduated with a 3.99 average in May 2007 and will focus on liberal studies and human rights as a graduate student at Columbia University. "I am most passionate about studying women's issues and race relations," she said.

At UAlbany, the English major found opportunities to express her passions "phenomenal." She taught a course through the Women's Studies Teaching Collective, performed her poetry, choreographed hip-hop and belly dancing, and in her sophomore year co-directed The Vagina Monologues - a production that raised $15,000 for rape crisis shelters.

Ayad's eventual goal is to attend law school, yet to always remain a "role model and confidante" for her sister, Nadia, 16. "I told her that after two years of graduate school in New York, I will apply for my law degree wherever she goes to school," Ayad said.

She labeled her UAlbany professors "amazing" and they reciprocate about her. "She's the kind of student who we love to have in class," says Thomas Bass of English. "She's a great intellectual explorer, and also has a big heart."