Hakeem Oufkir (’17)

Name: Hakeem Oufkir

Nickname(s): Hak, The Dream

Year: Sophomore

Major: Chemistry

Involvement: Cheerleading Team, Marching Band, Multicultural Ambassadors, Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity, Muslim Students Association

Relationship Status: Single

This week’s Campus Cutie is a total sweetie. Find out what he’d do if he ruled the world (hint: it’s pretty awesome!), and why he loves Wake Forest so much.  Meet Hakeem “The Dream” Oufkir!

HC (Her Campus): If you could take any celebrity on a date, who would it be?

HO (Hakeem Oufkir): Oh, that’s so hard.  Probably Shakira.

HC: Shakira, Shakira?

HO: Shakira.

HC: And if Shakira were to come over for a dinner date, what would you guys do?

HO: She’d speak to me in Spanish and sing to me as I just sit there and gaze at her presence.  I actually think it’s really interesting because she’s also half Arab, half Hispanic, and I’m half Arab, half Hispanic.

HC: Oh, I didn’t know that about Shakira.

HO: Yeah, she’s half Columbian, half Lebanese, and I’m half Columbian, half Moroccan.

HC: That’s cool you have that in common with her!  So, what’s the most romantic gesture you’ve ever done?

HO: Okay, well it was funny.  It was my freshman year here.  My French professor said there’s no more romance anymore in the world.  So I went to Reynolda Gardens and picked out some flowers.  I delivered them to the one girl that said she had no hope for romance, and she was so surprised.  We’re good friends now.

HC: Aw, that’s so sweet!  I think I remember reading about that on Wake Forest Compliments.

HO: Yeah, that’s got to be the most romantic thing I’ve ever done.

HC: Wow.  So what’s the most romantic gesture you’ve ever received?

HO: Um … I don’t have one.  I’m just – I like to give.  I don’t like to receive (laughs).  Even with compliments and stuff, I’m like, “No, no, no!”  I never say thank you.  Instead, I’m just like, “No, you’re wrong.  Stop.  You’re the one!  It’s you, it’s you!” (Laughs).

HC: I understand that all too well.  So, what song best describes your love life right now? Is it maybe a Shakira song?

HO: I don’t know.  That’s a hard one.  What song represents my love life…?

HC: “Drunk in Love” maybe?

HO: Yeah, definitely.  That’s a good one.  Beyoncé?  We’ll go with that.

HC: So what will always make you laugh?

HO: Someone else’s laugh.  If it’s an infectious laugh, I will laugh, even if it’s not funny.

HC: So if they think something’s funny, you think it’s funny?

HO: Yeah.  I was hanging out with my friend yesterday and I just told her, “I want to be your best friend because you have such an amazing laugh, and I just always laugh when you laugh.”

HC: That’s so sweet!  What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?

HO: Best piece of advice … I think the best one is, “Live your life today as if you were going to die tomorrow.”

HC: And if you competed in the Ms. America Pageant, what would your special talent be?

HO: Does it have to be something I’m actually good at?

HC: No, not at all.

HO: I think I’d do the baton thing? The twirling the baton? (Laughs).

HC: So you’re also a male cheerleader at Wake Forest.  What’s something about being a male cheerleader that no one knows?

HO: That we don’t actually have to cheer.  We have to scream loudly, but most of the time it’s just throwing girls into stunts.

HC: So nobody cheers?

HO: I barely know the cheers.  The girls have so much more to do than we do.

HC: If you ran the world, what’s one rule you would enact?

HO: Free pizza on Fridays.

HC: What?

HO: Free pizza on Fridays.  For everyone.  I mean, that’s like – my biggest rule.

HC: I’d definitely be down for that!  So can you tell me more about being a multicultural ambassador?

HO: Yeah, for sure.  I think that Wake Forest is slowly becoming more and more diverse, and I think that programs like this allow for more students to see [that diversity].  A lot of people have this one dimensional view of Wake Forest before they actually come here.  But in actuality, we’ve got diversity in all types of ways: We’ve got the LGBTQ center.  We’ve got the OMA (Office of Multicultural Affairs).  We’ve got all these different kinds of things, and when new students come to visit, they see that this school is a lot different [than the stereotype].

HC: Yeah, for sure.

HO: That’s the reason that I came to Wake.  I was between Chapel Hill, here, and Davidson.  I came to one of Wake’s overnight programs, and that really influenced me to come [here].  My best friend goes here now too.  We said, “Let’s just skip school and go to this overnight thing at Wake.”  We did it, and we were like, “We want to come here.  This is where we want to be.”

HC: Wake definitely is a special place!  Okay, last question: Do you believe in love at first sight?

HO: Yes.

HC: Definitely?

HO: Definitely.  My mom and my dad fell in love at first sight, so yeah. Their religious differences caused a divorce, but I think they were really in love.  Hopefully I’ll find that.