Tayyiba Muhammad ’22 thought she had tried everything to find her calling. She ran track and tried basketball, as well as trying many hobbies and clubs. Sometimes it was hard to find things she liked, while others were just recommendations. “I feel the pressure to be good at something.” Muhammad continued,  “I feel like I’ve spent all this time trying to fit in with different groups and different clubs that I’ve never really found the time to find something on my own or see what I like.” Just recently, after her first year, her interest in English collided with her interest in talking to people through Speech and Debate and journalism, where she can discuss topics and social issues that she is passionate about.

Muhammad’s interest in speech and debate stems from her interest in talking to people and experiencing new places, specifically through travel. While many people like to travel, Muhammad and her family have done more than most. Her parents were immigrants, and she has moved quite a bit herself, going from South Dakota to North Dakota, Iowa, Colorado, and back to Iowa. Muhammad would like to continue her travels, while in Iowa she found a group of friends she fits in with more than at her previous schools. She describes moving to different areas throughout her childhood as a reset button.

“You can choose the way people perceive you,” Muhammad said. “For me, what I used that refresh button for was to choose the people I was friends with. Because when I was younger, I never really felt like I fit in because I always changed myself. So that I could be more funny or relate to other people.” 

She has plans to move and travel beyond Iowa City. She is extremely excited about the possibility of going to Africa for the first time this summer. However, Muhammad looks forward to more traveling in her future. She also hopes to travel to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. She describes how she would like to explore different areas to meet new people with unique cultures, and see the way that people live in other places. To understand more than just what is happening here in Iowa, to see the bigger picture.

Her travels and interest in people and experiences in her family have led her to believe that not everyone has the same advantages, but she feels strongly that, at some level, people should have the same opportunities. Some people, here and elsewhere, have more opportunities in hobbies and academically. These ideas have given Muhammad ideas and goals for the future to help expand opportunities for people, and her interest in travel has expanded the frontier for opportunities to expand change. She is especially interested in expanding opportunities, especially for girls in other countries.