Sumaiya Chaudhry is an upcoming
media communicator in her own right. Chaudhry lead the production of a video for the nationwide “Stand Up for Science!” contest sponsored by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. SOJMC advertising major Tyler Rice serves as talent in the video. At the time of publishing this
site, the video “Lab Song” lead
by over 400 votes. To VOTE.

SumKalam, is a YouTube channel created by Marshall University college students Malak Khader, a junior majoring in public relations and minoring in both political science and sociology, and Sumaiya Chaudhry, a junior majoring in Biochemistry. They are friends who share a passion. A passion that is now a journey to help spread awareness about Islam and to break the silent barrier hindering progress and understanding of Islamic Americans. Born and raised in the United States they feel the need to show that Islam and America CAN coexist. Their YouTube channel, SumKalam, is the medium through which they share videos and voice their opinions on issues facing young Islamic Americans. Using a small point-and-shoot camera, a purple backdrop pinned against a bedroom wall and a little imagination, Sumaiya and Malak create a variety of serious and comedic videos. Topics range from the wearing of hijabs, prayer and other non-religious topics. Through the use of good-natured humor and effective storytelling they are making their voices heard. Each project leads to something new and gives them the opportunity to work with marvelously enthusiastic people and, most importantly, create special memories. Two Muslim girls from a small West Virginia town hope to represent and potentially brighten, the tainted image of approximately 1.7 billion Muslims worldwide. Malak and Sumaiya encourage others to take the initiative in creating something that you are passionate about. It will take a lot of time and effort, and, often times, you might not be able to do something on your own. However, once you take that initiative, everything will work out. You don’t need an expensive dslr camera, magnificent lights, or fancy editing software to make videos… all you need is passion.