Amer Mansoor of Bloomfield Hills will be the student speaker at Northern Michigan University’s spring commencement on Saturday, April 30. He completed both NMU’s pre-med program and the requirements for a bachelor’s degree in communication studies. Mansoor will graduate summa cum laude, a distinction for those who have achieved a 3.8-4.0 grade point average. He also received the outstanding male graduating senior award from the NMU Board of Trustees and was named outstanding graduate of the communication studies program.

“Being a Muslim American up here in Marquette, I realized that giving a commencement speech would allow me to express how accepting and loving the community of Northern has been to my religion and culture,” Mansoor said. “My speech will focus on some of the important life lessons that we can take away from Northern. These include encouraging diversity, seeking out opportunities and exploring passion for what you do in life. I will also discuss challenges that face us in our career paths, but conclude with a note on the bright future ahead of us and share a small blessing from my culture.”

Mansoor was an undergraduate researcher at the Upper Michigan Brain Tumor Center, a collaboration of NMU and UP Health System Marquette. He also spent each summer doing research closer to home at the Karmanos Cancer Institute and at St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital.

During his time at NMU, Mansoor was involved with the Pre-Med Club and ASNMU, the student government organization. He served as a news anchor for the “Public Eye News” televised production. He also recognized a need and established the Muslim Student Association to build unity among fellow students and to raise awareness and dispel misconceptions of Islam.

“I have felt extremely welcomed in this amazing community and have been given the opportunity to strive in whatever talents I have wanted to pursue,” he said. “I am grateful for meeting many lifelong friends in my classes and in the dorms. The thing I am going to miss the most about NMU is the faculty members who show true passion and devotion for their work. I believe that Northern offers a special focus on each student and allows us to shine in what we want. I feel ready for the challenges ahead thanks to my education at NMU.”

Mansoor applied to 30 undergraduate programs that offered guaranteed acceptance into medical school after completion of the pre-med program. He settled on NMU, which offers MedStart in partnership with Wayne State University School of Medicine. Mansoor said NMU appealed to him because of its close-knit campus community, supportive faculty, undergraduate research opportunities and distance from his hometown. He will begin medical school at WSU this fall. 

NMU’s commencement begins at 10:30 a.m. in the Superior Dome. It will be broadcast live on WNMU-TV and can be viewed online free of charge through America One/B2 Network. For more information, visit www.nmu.edu/commencement.