Fares Akremi has wanted to be a lawyer since he was five. Now, as a senior entering his final semester at MU, his campus leadership is helping him reach that goal.
Last month, Akremi was selected as one of 12 Rhodes Scholar Finalists in the Midwest region from hundreds of applicants.
The Rhodes Trust Scholarship gives students the opportunity to study at the University of Oxford for one to two years. Thirty-two winners were selected from 877 applicants, who are nominated by their universities.
For the Rhodes application, Akremi described his identity in just 1,000 words. Twenty-five drafts later, he said he learned more about his identity.
“I’ve had a very intensive, introspective process that has forced me to reflect on who I am and what I stand for,” Akremi said.
Completing his applications made Akremi realize the importance of the people around him.
“It was kind of humbling in a really fulfilling way, realizing that I’m kind of this agglomeration of all of these contributions of the people that I really care about,” Akremi said.
Although he wasn’t selected to receive the scholarship, Akremi’s goals remain the same.
When he graduates with degrees in political science and geography this spring, Akremi said he hopes to study immigration policy abroad. He plans to go to law school and would like to work for an immigration-advocacy focused non-profit or non-governmental organization.
Akremi is drawn to immigration law for its relevancy. He said he feels it is the most needed discipline within law today.
“For just about anybody entering (immigration) law, it’s a field that’s really extraordinarily important in the United States at this point,” Akremi said. “And there are tens of millions of people whose fate is totally at question.”
Immigration law appeals to Akremi on a personal level as well. His father immigrated to the U.S. from Tunisia in the ‘80s. His great-aunt, a German Jew, immigrated to the U.S. to avoid internment.
Doug Hurt, director for undergraduate studies for geography, said Akremi relates topics taught in class to his family’s migration history. Hurt is Akremi’s geography advisor and has taught him in class.
“He’s somebody who’s always trying to take what we’re talking about in class and apply that somehow, some way, to something that he’s learned before,” Hurt said.
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Through multiple leadership roles on campus, Akremi has built relationships with students and faculty.
Akremi led a Freshman Interest Group as a Peer Advisor his sophomore and junior years. After success as a PA, Akremi took on a leadership role as a Student Coordinator this year.
FIG Coordinator Anna Valiavska wrote one of his letters of recommendation for the Rhodes scholarship.
“Fares is very hardworking, and he cares so deeply about the students that he works with,” Valiavska said.
As a PA, Akremi stood out to Valiavska for his dedication and hard work, she said. After working with him directly for the past five months, Valiavska said Akremi is consistently working hard and exceeding expectations.
“It struck me so much how genuine he is and how kind he is and how hard he works to make sure that not necessarily that he’s recognized, but that he does his best job because quality is so important to him,” Valiavska said.
Akremi was the Multicultural Issues FIG PA as a junior, which appealed to him because it was relevant to his interests and experiences.
“(The Multicultural Issues FIG) really spoke to his strengths,” Valiavska said. “He cares a lot about multicultural education, he cares a lot about creating a world that is global and that is open and that is based on us understanding identities that we carry with and how those shape us.”
In the FIG, Akremi started conversations with students on diversity, privilege and ability. He said living with students is especially valuable to continuing lessons outside of class.
“We got to experience in our students the planting of some seeds and the opening of some doors,” Akremi said.
Now in his leadership role as a Student Coordinator, Akremi oversees 21 PAs, meeting with them weekly and going over lesson plans. Although he doesn’t have direct interaction with the FIG students, Akremi indirectly influences about 400 freshmen.
Akremi said he values mentorship from his own experience in a FIG as a freshman.
“Having my student staff members around to kind of help me connect to resources and feel at home, feel comfortable with all of these awesome people who were my friends, was pretty important to me,” Akremi said.
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Akremi, who was homeschooled from kindergarten through 12th grade with his twin brother, hadn’t received a letter grade or sat in a classroom until his first year of college.
Akremi said his education “was great, but it was different” compared to traditional experiences. He said it laid the foundation for his academic success in college, though.
“Every day, I had to make the decision to do school,” Akremi said. “For a sizable chunk of my teenage years … it was very much my choice what I was going to do. After a considerable amount of time not really doing much, I realized that … that wasn’t who Fares was.”
The passive management style of his education taught Akremi to self-motivate, a skill he feels most people don’t learn through conventional high school but is most similar to college.
William Horner, director of undergraduate studies for political science, has known Akremi since he was a freshman.
“He is a leader among his fellow students, while at the same time being a friend to many,” Horner said in an email.
Horner has taught Akremi in class and supervises the honors capstone course Akremi is in this semester. He said Akremi is a deeply engaged student.
“Fares frequently stops by my office just to chat about political topics, his research, his studies, and his plans for the future,” Horner said in an email. “I find this to be relatively rare and I am impressed with his drive, his sense of direction, and his personality.”
Through the department of political science, Akremi was selected as the inaugural Betty Anne McCaskill Scholar for summer 2015. Sen. Claire McCaskill created the scholarship in honor of her late mother to give a native Missouri student with financial need the opportunity to intern in Washington, D.C.
“When Claire McCaskill asks you if you would like to come work with her as an individual, you say yes,” Akremi said.
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FIGs Student Coordinator Jessie Lueck said she knew Akremi was a natural born leader. As a second-year Student Coordinator, she meets with all of the incoming Student Coordinators to give advice for the upcoming year.
“I just knew that at my meeting with Fares, that wasn’t what he needed from me,” Lueck said.
Instead, their meeting addressed how they would work together.
“I think that was really helpful to set that standard … so that I knew exactly what he expected from the team,” Lueck said.
Akremi notes that leadership is a collaborative effort.
“Good leaders know when it’s time to support,” Akremi said. “Not necessarily follow, but support.”