Omani Students with Her Excellency Hunaina
Al-Mughairy, the Ambassador of Oman to the
United States

The Omani Student Association at Villanova (OSA) was founded, by graduate and undergraduate students, in March, 2006.  In December, 2006 OSA became an officially recognized association at Villanova University under the College of Nursing.

OSA's mission:

• Bring awareness about Oman and Omani culture within the Villanova University environment.
• Implement and coordinate the Omani students’ activities
• Promote understanding and participation in the American culture.
• Provide a leadership learning experience to its members.

OSA objectives:

• Encourage and plan different activities to interact with the American culture.
• Promote greater understanding of the role and impact of the OSA in bringing Omani students together.
• Plan and implement different functions through OSA’s committees.

The association has a governance board and two committees which are the functional units of the organization.

The Governance Board consists of the President, Vice-President, Committee Leaders, Treasurer, and Secretary. This board is responsible for enforcing the association policies, ensuring and monitoring activities, and providing support and development for other members.

Committees

Social-Recreational Committee's mission is to

• Provide affordable quality leisure opportunities and safe recreational practices for all members of the OSA.
• Create a sense of family, warmth and unity in a land different than Oman.
• Involve the students in fun and exciting activities in the hectic studying environment.
• Familiarize and socialize members with other cultural groups in the university.
• Plan and implement different activities in the university to raise awareness about Omani culture.

Once such activity is Omani culture day. This event is an opportunity for the American students at the university to learn about Oman and to celebrate social occasion within the Omani culture. Moreover, it presents part of Omani culture to other students in Villanova University.  The last year has witnessed many activities that were conducted by this committee such as trips to Niagara Falls and graduation parties for those Omani students who have completed their degrees.

The Educational Committee has proven its usefulness especially to the new undergraduate students. The mission of this committee is to provide assistance to all OSA members in their academic activities.

The committee has the following objectives:

• Provide guidance and help on PowerPoint presentations and APA format to OSA members.
• Facilitate and encourage students' participation in university academic activities.
• Work in conjunction with the social committee in the development of both socially and academically enriching activities.
• Keep the Omani students updated of the university educational activities.
• Disseminates and shares useful websites and/or articles with the group.
• Seeks and orients members to any educational opportunities in the surrounding environment.