Manal Ammagui began her student affairs journey during her undergraduate years as a Resident Assistant in the halls on campus at the University of South Florida (USF) where she also participated in numerous student affairs conferences. Manal continued at USF to pursue a Master of Arts in French while serving as an Assistant Residence Life Coordinator her first year and then as the inaugural Graduate Assistant for Residential Student Success her second year. She stayed in Florida for two more years at Stetson University where she was a Residential Life Coordinator and developed their Residential Curriculum thanks to her previous experience and passion for student development and leadership in the residential halls.

Manal has now been at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) as a Residential Hall Coordinator, the first-ever position of its kind at AUS. While in the region, Manal joined the MENASA-NASPA board in 2022 under the Professional Development Committee and then continued the following year through the Conference Team for the 18th MENASA-NASPA Conference. Manal is now the Co-Chair for the 19th MENASA-NASPA Conference.

Miriam is the Director of Academic Advising and Student Success at Northwestern University in Qatar. Before this role, she was the Senior Academic Adviser at the American University in Dubai, where she gained extensive experience in academic advising and academic and student affairs.

Throughout her career, Miriam has held various academic positions across Lebanon and the GCC, advising diverse students in engineering, business, international relations, and media studies. She has successfully led a team of advisors and contributed to numerous academic committees focused on curriculum and quality enhancement.

Miriam’s expertise lies in multitasking, mentoring, researching, and implementing best practices to create a culture of student engagement. She is skilled in developing student-centered strategies, conducting data analysis and reporting, enhancing student retention and success, and supporting first-year student experiences and accreditation processes.

In her teaching career, Miriam has instructed finance, management, accounting, and mathematics courses, and has published research papers on academic advising.

Her passion for data analysis led her to complete three certificates in data analysis and reporting in 2021. More recently, she has completed a postgraduate program in AI and Machine Learning at the California Institute of Technology, further expanding her knowledge and expertise in cutting-edge technologies.

Recognized for her dedication, she was nominated for NASPA’s Dedicated Professional Award in 2021.

Miriam earned her MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Banking and Finance with distinction from the Lebanese American University in 2002 and 2005, respectively.

She currently serves as the Communication Team Lead for MENASA NASPA, where she continues to contribute to the field of student affairs and higher education.