Faith & fashion
Faith & fashion
Awa Seck is a Senegalese American studying at Syracuse University who embraces her Muslim beliefs and stylish looks.

Her chocolate skin glows against the cloth of her hijab. Only her arched eyebrows, full lips, and silver nose stud revealed features.
Awa Seck is a Senegalese American student from Harlem, New York, studying business analytics at Syracuse University with a minor in information management and technology.
Seck traveled to Senegal for the first time when she was just three years old. More than a decade later, she visited again as a high school graduation present from her parents.
The best of Senegal
Senegal is a country in West Africa known as the “Gateway to Africa.” It was colonized during the second half of the 19th century and gained independence in 1960. The country is known for its rich culture, diverse population, delicious cuisine, and genuine hospitality.
“One thing I love about Senegal is how family-oriented and community-oriented the country is,” Seck said.
Having spent a long time in the United States before her trip to Senegal, Seck quickly noticed a large difference between the two countries.
“It was such a beautiful thing because I think here, oftentimes there isn’t as much community,” Seck said. “When you are raising a kid, it is just you and your husband. But when you are in Senegal, it is the whole neighborhood looking after that one kid.”

However, Seck struggled to find a connection to her culture due to the language barrier.
“I also felt like there was a disconnect between me and back home [Senegal] because I couldn’t understand the language as well and I didn’t grow up there,” Seck said.
However, traveling to Senegal as a young adult allowed Seck to reconnect with her culture.
“It wasn’t until I truly stayed there for three weeks that I was able to immerse myself in culture and just learn so much about traditions and cultural values that seemed just a little bit foreign to me before then,” Seck said.

But since Seck’s time in Senegal, she felt encouraged to learn more about Senegalese culture and its most widely spoken language, Wolof.
“I came back from Senegal, and all I watch are shows in Wolof. I’m on Senegalese TikTok. It helps me when I feel homesick,” Seck said.
Being surrounded by strangers that shared her identity helped her to embrace her family’s culture.
“Just being around people that look like you, that have the same religion as you, speak the same language, it helps,” Seck said.
Seck notices a stark difference between the American lifestyle and that of the Senegalese.
“There is a very slow-paced culture there,” Seck said. “I feel like here in America everything is so fast, but there, everything is very slow, you can really just sit out for like two hours just drinking tea with your family, or sit out and just bathe in the sun. It’s just really nice.”
Senegalese and West African cultures are a big part of who Seck is.
“It means everything to me. I love Senegal. I love West African culture. It inspires me” Seck said.
Finding her Identity at a PWI
Seck’s experience at Syracuse allows her to embrace her true identity.
“Syracuse in itself is a school where there is a really big African American community. I also came to school knowing a lot of Africans from my area. I think that truly helped,” Seck said.
Being involved on campus helped Seck’s personal development.
“Just being a part of the ASU (African Student Union) and other organizations like NABA (National Association for Black Accountants), just surrounded by people that look like me motivated me and helped me to where I am today,” Seck said.
Seck once grappled with her sense of belonging and identity.
“When I was younger, I struggled with identifying with my cultural identity because I grew up in the States and mainly around Western culture,” Seck said.
Wearing a hijab
Seck didn’t always wear her hijab.
“I didn’t start putting on the hijab until I got to school. I thought that it would affect my modest journey and journey with Islam,” Seck said. “But it honestly helped so much.”
A hijab is a garment worn by some Muslim women. ‘Hijab’ or hajaba is an Arabic word that means “conceal.”
Seck views her decision to wear her hijab as a responsibility that she has.
“If I don’t change, if I don’t become the person that’s going to put on the scarf, who knows if that is going to hinder someone else that’s going to try and put on the scarf as well,” Seck said.
Though not all Muslim women wear a hijab, some do. The hijab is a symbol of faith and modesty, typically covering the hair, ears, and neck, with only the face visible.
Seck decided to start wearing a hijab after she turned 18.

“It was something that I really wanted to do deep down inside for such a long time and I thought if not now, when will I ever do it,” Seck said.
Seck’s decision to wear a hijab for her birthday came unexpectedly.
“For my birthday, I just felt off, something felt so off, spirituality. I felt down. I just decided ‘Let me just put it on.’ The next day, it was so random and I put it on,” Seck said.
This was very different from a different birthday when Seck wished she wore her hijab.
“It was right after my 18th birthday. I was a part of the ASU fashion show. I think one of my biggest regrets was not having put it on during the show,” Seck said.
The reaction to Seck wearing a hijab was positive.
“Everybody was so supportive. People were telling me “It really captures my beauty more,” Seck said.
Seck understands the conflict some girls and women encounter when contemplating the decision to wear a hijab.
“I think a lot of hijabis struggle with feeling confident in the hijab especially when it’s not what they were first introduced to,” Seck said. “You’re used to the hair and the braids and you feel beautiful in it, but you have to sacrifice that beauty in order to align with what your religion asks you to do.”
Seck’s advice to girls and women who are unsure whether they should wear a hijab is just to put one on.
“Honestly, I tell them straight up “Just do it,” said Seck. “Hijab is not about looking ugly. It’s literally what is obligated for us women in Islam to do,” Seck said. “You give up something for the sake of God, He’s going to replace that with something better.”
Seck wants girls and women to know that they are more than just their physical appearance.
“Beauty isn’t everything. Your looks will fade away one day,” Seck said “What happened to your intelligence? What happened to your hobbies, your creativity, your passions, your interests? All of those things require much more attention besides beauty of course.”
Faith first
As a Muslim woman and student, faith is important to Seck.
“My faith is everything to me. It’s a guideline. It’s what I grew up in. I grew up Muslim,” Seck said.
Seck emphasized finding your voice in Islam can help you relate more to the religion.
“Everyone around me was Muslim, but I feel like even when you are born into a religion like Islam, you still have to have your own journey and feel connected to it,” Seck said.
Islam was founded in the 7th century by the Prophet Muhammad in the Arabian Peninsula. Currently, 1.9 billion people identify as Muslim, a person who practices the religion of Islam.
Seck relies on her religion to overcome difficult situations.
“Just because you’re taught something doesn’t mean it automatically resonates with you,” Seck said. “Through time, through struggle, through different obstacles and situations in your life, you begin to appreciate the religion much more because you realize how much it helps you and how much it guides you. It really means everything to me.”
Seck believes there is a reward that comes with wearing a hijab.
“You give up your beauty, you sacrifice your confidence, He’s going to replace it with humility and grace,” Seck said. “You’re going to be able to take that confidence and pour it into other aspects of your life.”

Fashion forward
Seck’s fashion has changed over the years.
“It grows with me. If I look at myself a year ago and I look at pictures or what I’m wearing, I can cringe at it,” Seck said. But, I’ll also laugh and smile because I know that in that moment, in that time, I was wearing what I really love, it meant a lot to me.”
Her journey as an undergraduate student at Syracuse allows her to experiment with her fashion style.
“I feel like it’s kind of hard to switch your style right away in front of people who have known you your whole entire life,” said Seck. “It helped that I was in a new environment, away from my friends and family and I could kind of just reinvent my style, reinvent myself.”
Although her style is ever-changing Seck always had a knack for fashion.
“I had always loved fashion though, admired content creators who would wear different outfits and things that I admire,” Seck said. “Using inspiration from that as well as combining my own interests, I kind of just meshed it together.”
Growing up, singer and songwriter Rihanna inspired Seck’s style, but her sources of inspiration have since changed.
“Before it used to be Rihanna (regarding her style inspiration)” Seck said. “I think now, I don’t have as many people that I look up to. But I’ll really just see a picture or colors or be inspired by just certain fabrics or materials. Right now, I am really into leather.”
African attire is also represented in Seck’s wardrobe.
“I think I really love traditional African attire, some of the materials we use clothes with are very bright and colorful. Sometimes I try to incorporate that into my style,” Seck said. “Certain African jewelry like a bracelet. I have a Senegalese shell bracelet that I would wear with some of my outfits.”
Seck appreciates her style right now, knowing it could change and evolve.
“I still feel like it’s changing and I might not be in a place that I want to be, but I know that for now, I feel really confident in what I wear,” Seck said.
Faith and fashion
As a Senegalese American Muslim girl, the decision to embrace faith, fashion, and multiple identities was once one of Seck’s biggest conflicts to navigate.
“Finding that balance (between fashion and faith) is really the biggest struggle for a lot of hijabis, including myself,” Seck said.
For Seck, the hijab is more important than the outfit.
“I usually think about the hijab first,” Seck said. “If I try on an outfit and I feel as though it does not align with myself and the hijab, I’ll change it and wear something else that suits it,” Seck said.
Additionally, the hijab makes Seck feel confident.
“I think that the hijab has contributed to that confidence as well and has contributed to my style,” Seck said.
Seck believes that Muslim girls and women can embrace both faith and fashion.
“We feel as if we have to compromise the hijab in order to still look good or fashionable or stylish which is completely not true,” Seck said. “The hijab is honestly what makes it stylish. The hijab is what makes the outfit.”
Seck claimed that finding your style while following your religion is simple.
“I think if I went in trying to automatically merge faith and fashion as if it were 50:50, it wouldn’t work out because I’d be trying to compromise one or the other,” Seck said. “I think fully prioritizing my faith and my journey with Islam and God and my deen (a guide and holistic way of life for Muslims including moral values, personal practices, religious beliefs, and social responsibilities) has contributed to my sense of self, feeling more grounded and confident in who I am. Through that, I am able to confidently wear what I wear,” Seck said.
Though Seck’s outfits outwardly represent her style, her faith represents who she truly is, she is proud to embrace both collectively.
“The outfits that I wear, it’s an expression: it’s who I am, it’s what I like, my interests and I feel like I wouldn’t be who I am without my faith,” Seck said.