Once in a college class there was a sister who wore hijab who was so, so rude to one of the students in the class, she was rude, acted arrogantly, and then said it's just the way people in her age group act. The student's response was “no, that's the way rude people act.” I tried to talk to the sister and she was like, “that girl who has a pea brain” or something insane like that. may Allah protect us from arrogance.

Later that semester, I drove too fast in the parking lot and the same non Muslim student saw me drive by. She was very upset that I had driven fast and told me off before walking away angrily.

ALHAMDULLILAH Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala blessed me big time and helped me think fast. I ran to a nearby Jamba Juice, got a gift card and met her later and apologized to her, and I told her that this is not from Islam for us to act rudely, to drive crazily…that it was from my own faults and I would not want her to judge Islam for my wrong actions.

Alhamdullilah, first she was surprised, and second, she was really grateful that I had made the gesture. She told me, in light of 2 bad experiences with two women who wear hijab, that she started thinking- “Maybe they really are the way the media portrays them.”

Just two bad incidents and a generally open minded woman was ready to think that Islam might actually be as horrible as the media makes it seem.

We take small issues about our character for granted and think that others do not see them as that big of a deal. We carry Islam when we walk subhanAllah. this is a huge responsibility. Let's take it seriously and make that small effort to show the people that this deen has an amazing standard of morals. Holding the door a little longer, smiling a little wider, PARKING CORRECTLY …in the end, all these little things play into a much wider picture. may Allah give us tawfeeq.

JazakAllah khair for the post.
I'd like to add a suggestion, what seems like a great idea is if we have Muslim scholars who then study deeply a science, say biology or psychology and thereby create a symbiosis between those fields and Islam, and use them for the benefit of Muslims.
For example, it would really help the Muslims intellectually if we have Muslim scholars who are well qualified in evolutionary theory.
It would be easier for Muslim scholars to study and graduate in a science degree since Islamic training really helps make the secular studies easier.
Wa Salam