CAMPUS Staff Profile:
Hanane Boumkan On Happiness by caitlin anders
I
nside the side entrance to the Walker Building down Boylston Place, there is a security desk where someone must be stationed every day, to keep an eye on things and give a friendly hello to people coming in and out of the building. A quiet place to work due to very limited traffic, the desk has been staffed for the past two years by Securitas member Hanane Boumkan and it’s her favorite place to be. “The people here are so friendly and respectful, they always ask how I’m doing and show that they really care about me,” she says. “Working here is like being a part of a big family.” Throughout her time at Emerson, Boumkan has worked in every building at every security post in the school but favors her spot in the Tufte. “I get more of a chance to talk to people when I’m here. It’s quiet with not a lot of traffic, so people are able to stop and chat with me. I love it.” Even though it is not the most frequented place on campus, Boumkan’s post has given her plenty
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of interesting stories. “There are some people I see every day, and yet they don’t always say hello. If they’re in a good mood, they’ll greet me happily, but if they’re in a bad mood they act as if they don’t even know me even though we’ve talked before. It can be annoying but it’s also kind of interesting.” Being ignored occasionally and sitting alone at a desk all day may seem dull, but Boumkan has seen her fair share of funny occurrences, courtesy of Emerson’s quirky students. She describes the weirdest thing that has ever happened to her while she was working, “one day, this girl came up to the desk and asked me if I could smell her. I was confused, and she said that people had been giving her weird looks all day, so she wanted to know if she smelled. I looked at her and realized that it was her outfit and not the way that she smelled that was making people give her weird looks. I told her she needed to be more confident about herself and not care about what other people think about her. Now, I see her all the time and she’s always confident and smiling. I’m really glad I could help her out with that.” Boumkan helps people a lot while she’s working, and she’s always happy to do it. “I like to help people around here. I also like to talk to people about happiness a lot.” Boumkan loves to ask others what makes them happy, in love with the whole idea of happiness and what it can do to people. There is so much that makes her happy, and in talking to her anyone can tell that she loves her life, even despite the things its thrown at her.
Boumkan is currently a long ways away from where she grew up. Boumkan came to the U.S. in 2008 from Morocco. “My family is all back in Morocco, so it was hard choice to make to come here, but I just decided it was what I wanted to do, and so here I am.” Even though she misses her family, she knows it’s worth it for her to be here, and it makes the times she does see them all the more sweet. Since she’s been here, Boumkan visited Morocco once in 2010 for a month and a half, to attend her Uncle’s wedding. “Weddings in Morocco are huge celebrations that can last up to five to seven days, so they’re always a lot of fun. I’m very glad I got to go to that and see everyone during the celebration.” Boumkan has always loved to travel, and so far in the states she’s been to New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, and Florida, but Boston will always be her home away from home. “I love seeing all the places in Boston, and actually having four seasons. I had never seen snow before I came here, either, and Boston gets so much of it!” When she’s not working here at Emerson, Boumkan attends classes at Bunker Hill Community College, studying business management. “I’m really into fashion design, so getting a degree in business will help me be able to pursue that. I draw my own designs all the time, so I’m already preparing to start my own business in that way. I imagine it, I draw it, and it comes out perfectly. I know I’m good at it, and I’ll be successful in life, one way or another.”