Name: Amaalyah Wilson
Age: 20
Year: 2nd (Sophomore)
Major: Business Management (Honors College)
HC: What has been your best experience while attending UIC?
AW: Honestly, my best experience here at UIC was getting an acceptance into Honors College and moving to the Human Resources Department at my job (UIC Facilities Management).
HC: What is something that has impacted your life?
AW: Before my senior year of high school, I ended up breaking my leg because of cheerleading. I’ve learned how appreciative I am for the small things in life. That stopped me from cheering, running, walking; basically I wasn’t active anymore. It was so hard for me to get used to this lifestyle. I had to learn everything all over again and it really made me appreciate the little things such as walking. Just being able to walk is such a blessing.
HC: What is the greatest moment in your life that you can recall?
AW: The greatest moment of my entire life was doing a campaign for Sears! It was the craziest thing ever. One day, I decided to check my Facebook and saw that I had a message from someone. She stated that she worked for an advertising company that represented Sears and that she found my tweet online about shopping for my dad. My tweet was about how it was hard to shop for men because they don’t want anything specific like women. She thought it was great and asked me to be in a campaign for Sears. At first, I thought it was scam, but I came to find out it wasn’t. I spoke to the producers from California and the lady that wanted to cast me and it happened! They came to my aunt’s house and interviewed me and surprises came left and right. We went to Sears, started shopping for my dad and they surprised me with my dad being in the commercial “I had no idea”. It was so beautiful to me! It took a long time but it was worth it. Literally the best experience of my life.
HC: Who is your greatest supporter?
AW: My boyfriend literally supports me in everything I do. With every decision I make, he will always be there by my side, cheering me on. I would also do the same for him. We push each other because we know we are capable of doing anything we want, no matter how hard any situation is, he is always there to support.
HC: If there is one thing that you can tell other females on campus what would it be?
AW: Being judgmental isn’t the way to go. Make yourself approachable by others on campus! We all have to lean on each other for strength and networking! Plus we are all beautiful in our own way!
HC: Thanks so much for letting us interview you and share personal life experiences and information!
AW: No! Thank you so much for interviewing me, seriously!!!
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If you liked anything from Amaalyah’s interview you can follow her Instagram/Twitter @amaal_yours and if you liked her story about her greatest moment check out her Sears commercial by clicking here!