Student Leaders Leondra Tyler ’24 and Omnia Shedid L’24 have made their mark and discovered their career ambitions through their time on campus. They plan on using their degrees to make a difference.
This weekend’s Syracuse University Commencement marks a time to reflect and celebrate the end of a long journey for students. Two decorated student leaders, Leondra Tyler’24 and Omnia Shedid L’24, share their stories and their paths to Syracuse University on this edition of “’Cuse Conversations.”
Leondra Tyler
A non-traditional student, Tyler will graduate cum laude with dual degrees in neuroscience and psychology from the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Professional Studies through the Part-Time Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP).
Tyler has been recognized as a McNair Scholar, Our Time Has Come Scholar and Remembrance Scholar, and is a passionate leader with the Hendricks Chapel Food Pantry. She is engaged in both social psychology and behavioral neuroscience research, including a Syracuse Office of Undergraduate Research and Creative Engagement (SOURCE) research fellowship, and she eventually plans on utilizing her degrees to impact her community as a doctor.
“I took advantage of all Syracuse University has to offer, and I made a mark on this campus. I’m making it a better campus for the next round of students that are coming in. It’s been such an amazing journey. While it’s very sad to me that it’s almost over, I know Syracuse will always be my home,” Tyler says.
Omnia Shedid
Shedid, the president of the College of Law’s Class of 2024, is a member of the Advocacy Honor Society’s Trial and Alternative Dispute Resolution divisions. She’s helped connect veterans with access to essential resources with the Betty and Michael D. Wohl Veterans Legal Clinic, and held two prestigious summer internships—as a law clerk at the Office of the Attorney General of Rhode Island, and at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. Shedid landed her “dream job” as an honors attorney with the government after graduation.
“Being at the College of Law taught me how to lead with understanding, which is such a beautiful way to tie up my entire experience because my law classes taught me how to understand not just the law, but other people’s perspective on the law. It’s important to understand where people are coming from and what they need as a lawyer, because you can’t really support people unless you actually know what it is that they need,” says Shedid.
On this Commencement-centric “’Cuse Conversation,” Tyler and Shedid discuss their surreal paths to Commencement and how their time on campus reinforced their drive to make a difference once they graduate.
Check out episode 163 of the “’Cuse Conversations” podcast featuring Tyler and Shedid. A transcript [PDF] is also available.
Tyler: I’m going to cry. It’s been such a long and rewarding journey. Being a part-time student, it’s taken me six years to get here, but it’s been such an amazing journey. It’s sad it’s almost over, but I know that Syracuse will always be my home. So even though my time here is almost done, it’s really never over.
Shedid: Syracuse University allowed me to not only learn more about myself, but about the attorney I hope to become. It challenged me academically and personally. To be part of this amazing alumni network is so special. I never thought I would reach this point in my life. This is a dream come true. I’d always had such a soft spot for Syracuse University because of its academic reputation, and I cannot believe that all these years later, I am now part of that community. I feel privileged and honored and look forward to helping others.
Shedid: Don’t say no to yourself until no is said to you because there are so many opportunities out there. Resilience is a muscle. Every moment of adversity that we face is a chance for us to build that muscle and to tell ourselves that you can keep going and put in the effort to accomplish your goals. Times will get challenging. Classes will get incredibly hard. You’ll be given rejections for internships you really wanted. But if I had gotten discouraged after every single no I heard, I wouldn’t have gotten my dream job. Every no should turn into motivation for you to work 10 times harder because when one door closes, I swear to you, so many other doors will open for you. You just have to keep turning the knob.
Tyler: I’ve always had imposter syndrome where I’m constantly questioning whether I belong. I’ve always known I’m a smart person who loves helping people, but being part of this community definitely built up my self-esteem and my self-confidence and instilled this foundation where, just knowing that I belong made me realize I’m going to do amazing things. When it comes to mental health, my advice is it’s okay to say no to things. Take time for yourself. I have a self-care day once a week where I just don’t to anything. No work. No assignments. That has been great for me. There’s a lot of resources on campus in the Barnes Center at The Arch. Definitely take advantage of those resources.
Note: This conversation was edited for brevity and clarity.
