CAMERON ALFORD | STAFF REPORTER

Freshman Reem Negash, a political science and psychology major and sociology minor, says that making others happy is her focus in life.

It can be “making someone laugh if they are feeling bad…it’s like an external force that helps me feel better about myself,” she said.

Negash was born in Sudan, while her family is from Eritrea.

She grew up in Indianapolis and is now a first-generation college student at Butler University.

Today she is a part of Residential College’s Hall Government and the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega.

The Indianapolis native said helping people does not stop with community service. Developing a critical perspective is important as well.

As a political science major, she hopes to help individuals understand their civil rights.

It is imperative to clear the air of extreme ideas being “blown out of proportion,” she said. “A lot of our society just doesn’t understand what is going on.”

She wants to keep people from believing in what a particular media source says.

Negash says her obligation lies in educating individuals about the importance of thinking critically.

Digging for the truth in the facts is one of her biggest values, she said.

During her childhood, Negash said, her father emphasized the significance of earning an education.

Her dad would say the opportunity to receive an education is “not for me, it’s for you.”

Even then, making her parents proud was motivation enough. “Going to college was to make them proud,” she said.

When she went to Ben Davis High School here in Indianapolis, her mission became clear: to receive the best and highest level of education possible.

Even though Butler was her top choice, Negash said that most people at Ben Davis did not consider attending Butler University because they did not know much about it.

The freshman pointed out that even some of her family members only knew Butler as “the basketball school.”

But what she values most at Butler is the opportunity to serve the community.

Negash says she is proud of going to a school where helping others is a priority.

“I have fallen in love with Butler,” she said.