College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Omar Hussain was an HCOM major with a Concentration in Journalism and Mass Media. After graduating from HCOM in 2008, he started working with a nonprofit in San Jose that was creating leadership opportunities for Sudanese refugees at a secondary school in Kenya. In 2009, he was accepted into many graduate programs, including the University of Pennsylvania (with a $10,000 scholarship per semester) and the University of Michigan (with a $15,000 scholarship). After graduating from the University of Michigan, Omar led communications for the National Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, working toward creating post-secondary opportunities for undocumented citizens. In 2012, he joined the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, one of the largest philanthropic organizations in the world. At the foundation he worked on the America Healing portfolio, a program working toward racial equity. In 2016, Omar was brought on at General Motors and worked on the developing a new corporate brand for the famous auto company. Today, Omar runs his own company that he co-founded, Defy Communications, a full-service communications firm that works with mission-driven organizations to help deliver the outcomes society deserves. Omar has recently published a novel: The Outlandish and the Ego, which has received rave reviews.