Bob Asmussen | 'Being able to speak in front of a crowd is something I feel comfortable doing'

May 14—Parkland College student and Champaign resident Amina Alamin wasn't planning to enter the David Jones Persuasive Speech Contest.

A few days before the annual Parkland event, Alamin's Professor Jody Littleton suggested that she give it a try.

"She said, 'Hey, I think you'd do great in this,'" Alamin said. "I had no idea it was coming up."

Excellent call by Littleton.

Alamin's speech about the First Followers Re-Entry Program impressed the judges enough that she took first place and the $500 scholarship that went with it. The prize also includes a $500 donation in Alamin's name to the First Followers program.

The speeches were recorded and are available on YouTube. Easy to see why Alamin's six-minute effort was picked as the winner among a strong group of entries.

At age 16, at the time of her talk, she sounded like someone much older and wiser.

To use a sports saying, Alamin knocked it out of the park.

"Being able to speak in front of a crowd is something I feel comfortable doing," Alamin said. "When the challenge comes up, I am down to do it."

It has been a good spring for Alamin. Last Thursday, the health scence major earned her degree from Parkland ... on her 17th birthday.

In the fall, Alamin will enroll at the University of lllinois as a pre-dental/health science major.

Illinois is the only school she applied to, a practice she does not recommend.

"There is a chance of not getting in," Alamin said. "Thank God I got in."

Say ahhh

After she earns her degree at Illinois, Alamin's plan is to enter dental school.

"I don't know where, so that's still up in the air," she said.

Dentistry wasn't always in Alamin's future.

"I was consistently changing my first year at Parkland," Alamin said.

Why did she decide to be a dentist?

"I realized dentistry and oral health in general is something so important but something not a lot of people have access to," Alamin said. "The fact that something this important was not accessible to anyone really just crazy."

She has written papers about the profession and has a passion for it.

Role models

Alamin has many of them, starting at home with her mom, Takeya, and dad, Ahmed.

She has two siblings: older sister Selma and younger brother Khalid.

"I'm a big family person," Alamin said. "I spend most of my time with my family."

Selma has also been an inspiration to Amina. She graduated from Parkland at age 16 and is currently studying psychology at the UI.

"I saw the path I was going to take through her," Alamin said. "We're very close. I learned a lot from her."

Khalid, who is 13, will also begin classes at Parkland when he turns 15.

The family wants to serve. A lesson they learned at home.

"Growing up, I was always told whatever you choose to do, whether that's education-wise or in your future, there needs to be something where you are giving back to your community," Alamin said.

Alamin is younger than most college sophomores. She was part of Champaign's D.E.E.N. homeschool co-op. Takeya is one of the administrators. She also works as an event planner. Ahmed owns a car dealership.

Alamin started taking classes at Parkland at age 15 for college credit. Her graduation Thursday included both her high school diploma and junior college certificate.

More inspiration

Alamin got the idea for a speech about First Followers from her grandmother, Patsy Howell. The Champaign resident is a longtime supporter of the organization.

"My grandmother made it a very clear point in her life to make sure her children knew what to do when we see issues that are very apparent in front of our eyes," Alamin said. "It's a privilege to understand some of the issues."