Engineering major Mohamed Hamada never thought he’d move from Egypt at all, especially all the way to the western part of the United States.

“The education is much better here, especially for engineering,” said Hamada.

Although Hamada loved his days outside the U.S., life hasn’t always been easy. Hamada’s father was killed when he was only five years old, and at a young age he was a troublemaker who often butted heads with his mom.

Then, when he was 19, he made the decision to pack up and move to the United States, and more specifically to attend Sac State.

The 25-year-old ASI board member joined the campus’ student-run government in 2001, and hasn’t stopped playing an active role in the way this campus is run ever since.

In fact, since a young age, Hamada’s goals have always been to make a difference. At 15 he joined the Tourist Friends Group, and was the youngest person to do so. There, worked hard to help tourism in Egypt flourish.

“My goals have always been to do something useful,” said Hamada. “My goal is to not become a consumer, so when I’m 50 or 60 I’ll have all the money I need and that’ll be it.”

Hamada is also intrigued with the arts, and has a love for photography. He hopes by this summer to own a dark room, and lists famous photographers like Ansel Adams as an influence for his work.

As cliche as it sounds, all Hamada really wants to succeed in his career, whether as a teacher, engineer or politician, preferably by helping others.

He’d love to be employed by a university for as long as possible, citing the wonderful atmosphere a school provides.

“A campus environment is an intellectual environment, which is pleasing for me,” said Hamada. “You can always do something, whether it’s sit outside and read a book underneath a tree or sit in on a meeting.”

Actually, sitting isn’t all Hamada enjoys. He also teaches part-time in the phsyics department here at Sac State and runs the web site www.votevision2003.com.

Creative. Relaxed. Focused. These are things that make Hamada a standout citizen, and whether he wins ASI President or not, he will continue to play a huge part in the student life at Sac State and he will continue to pursue all of his goals.