When Ilham Mohamud was elected president of the Undergraduate Student Government in spring 2025, the moment marked far more than a historic first for the University of St. Thomas. As the university’s first Black Muslim woman to hold the office, Mohamud’s leadership had begun long before her name appeared on a ballot.
The senior from St. Cloud, Minnesota, had already advocated for kosher and halal dining options on campus and presented calendar reforms to the Faculty Senate aimed at protecting vulnerable students during holiday travel.
For Mohamud, who is studying business law and compliance at the Opus College of Business, student government is not about titles or visibility. It is about examining systems and ensuring they serve the people inside them.
“I’ve always been drawn to the why behind rules,” Mohamud said. “Who created them? Who benefits from them? And who might be left vulnerable by their design?”
For her, that curiosity is not abstract. It is personal.
As the eldest daughter of refugees, Mohamud grew up understanding the hardships of moving to a new and unfamiliar country. Each opportunity, she said, feels like a gift, as well as a chance to create positive change. That sense of gratitude has evolved into determination and a constant drive to keep growing.
“The unwillingness to accept injustice as inevitable drove me to seek out opportunities where I could combine curiosity, problem-solving and real-world impact,” she said.
- Ilham Mohamud“I’ve always been drawn to the why behind rules. Who created them? Who benefits from them? And who might be left vulnerable by their design?”
Growing up in Sauk Rapids, Minnesota, Mohamud completed her associate degree at St. Cloud State University while still in high school. The accomplishment was an early sign of the ambition that would shape her college experience.
“She doesn’t just choose to be involved — she wants to be involved,” said fellow Tommie Katelynn Sevre ’27, a nursing major who has been Mohamud’s friend for more than eight years. “She doesn’t just show up; she brings genuine care and a contagious drive that inspires those around her.”
For Mohamud, every commitment is an opportunity to create meaningful change.
As a freshman, she noticed that Muslim students in the residence halls lacked access to lotas — small vessels traditionally used in Muslim households to hold water for personal cleansing. As co-chair of the Well-Being Committee, Mohamud met with administrators to ensure student voices were heard. By that spring, lotas had been installed in residence hall bathrooms.
The change helped ensure that even more first-year students could feel a sense of belonging when arriving on the St. Thomas campus adorned with kasota stone buildings along the Mississippi River.
Mohamud’s first success showed that larger advocacy was possible and demonstrated how thoughtful action can expand access and inclusion.
“What makes Ilham exceptional is how she translates compassion into concrete change,” said Jessica Reagan, community director in Dowling Residence Hall. “She approaches every initiative through a lens of justice, identifying whose voices are missing and working tirelessly to amplify them.”
Across campus, student organizations help shape the Tommie experience. The laughter heard when club lacrosse charges down O’Shaughnessy Field, or the joy on the faces of the swing dance club as they dance the night away, highlights how clubs foster community and belonging.
Recognizing that impact, Mohamud worked to support student organizations as a USG senator, helping distribute nearly $40,000 in funding to student-led clubs.
Law for the Common Good
Commitment to service also shaped Mohamud’s academic path.
She became interested in working at the intersection of law, humanity and accountability, viewing the law as a powerful tool for giving voice to people who might otherwise be overlooked. Before applying to law school, she met with law students, sat in on classes and spoke with practicing attorneys. The experiences helped clarify her direction.
“As the daughter of refugees, I saw how systems can be used to crush or uplift and how deeply the law matters when people have no one else to speak for them,” she said. “Those experiences didn’t just make me aware of injustice; they made me want to be part of the solution.”
At St. Thomas, Mohamud found opportunities to put that belief into practice.
Selected for the Innovation Scholars program, a high-impact experiential learning initiative for students from Minnesota’s private colleges and universities, she interned with NASA, applying concepts from her business law courses to analyze a biomedical patent.
“Ilham has great ideas and the willpower and skills to make those ideas happen,” said Susan Supina, associate professor of business and compliance law, who taught Mohamud in several courses.
The experience broadened Mohamud’s perspective on innovation and public impact.
“It taught me that innovation can be ambitious while still serving the common good,” she said.
The project eventually grew into the startup CognitionIQ, which Mohamud founded with teammates Olivia Keller ’26, Sam Mahannah ’26 and Breanna Ranglall ’26, along with faculty mentor Steve Vuolo. The company aims to provide guidance on legal, ethical and compliance concerns for medical startups.
“I feel truly grateful to be part of a group motivated not just by innovation,” Keller said, “but by the hope of making a real difference in brain health and the lives of others.”
CognitionIQ captured the first place prize at the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship Business Plan competition Feb. 27, 2026. They won a $10,000 cash prize for winning the undergraduate division at the competition.
"We're just very lucky that the Opus College of Business generates these kind of opportunities for us where I know that's not possible at other universities," Mohamud said. "Having the school able to support us and express this idea and get funding for it is just incredible."
