If you’ve been to any recent Florida A&M University events, you’ve noticed new faces on the Royal Court – and we’re not just talking about Mr. and Miss FAMU.
One new face is Samer Hasona, a fourth-year chemistry pre-med student from Bainbridge, Georgia.
So, what makes Hasona stand out from the rest of the royal court? It’s his story.
Hasona is considered a minority at this historically black university; his nationality is Palestinian and his religion is Muslim. He’s used to standing out from the rest of the crowd.
“Even though I attend an HBCU with other minorities, you're still not going to see people like me,” he said.
Hasona is president of the Muslim Student Association, has been on the tennis team for three years, and is an active member in countless chemistry organizations. FAMU has helped him evolve in more ways than one.
Shazzia Alexander, a fourth-year chemistry major and fellow classmate, describes Hasona as “very responsible and reliable, which are not two qualities that are easy to come by.” Alexander thinks Hasona’s personality contributes to him being an uplifting person but it is his mindset that makes him unique.
“He has an outlook on life from more than one cultural perspective, he’s very compassionate and personable which translates to being a good escort.”
Growing up in South Georgia he always felt uncomfortable and isolated but as he made his transition to FAMU he describes being in an atmosphere where he is still a minority but feels accepted.
“Coming to FAMU from Georgia, I was a minority,” Hasonasaid. “The difference from coming to a closed-minded atmosphere to one where people willingly accepted me as what I was,” is a big adjustment for him.
Hasona’s main reason for becoming an escort on the Royal Court is to show that FAMU made him feel accepted and he wanted to be a representation of that. “Minorities are accepted at HBCUs and I wanted to show that,” he said.
Kaylan Brown, a fourth-year chemistry major, said that it’s Hasona’s character and not his ethnicity that plays a major role in him being an escort.
Brown describes Hasona as “informative, dependable, and helpful, he’s an excellent escort because he has manners, etiquette, and a calmness to him that makes him just the person for the role.”