2012-2013: Khaled Hasanin, Senior (Islamic Saudi Academy Boys’ School)

Learning a language while taking courses in the language is not easy, especially if these courses are hard sciences like Biology or Chemistry. Many students at ISA have had a diffic2011-2012:ult time with learning sciences taught in English. Khaled has taken his academic excellence in these areas into something bigger. After successfully completing science courses as an English language learner himself, Khaled led study skills sessions for his peers facing the same challenge. In those workshops, he shared his strategies for taking notes and writing lab reports, as well as interacting with teachers and peers in the science classroom.

He has given his time and energy in helping classmates. Thi was not just an academic exercise but also a cultural and social merging. Khaled has done more than help students academically; he has allowed for greater communication and understanding within the ISA and English speaking community.

Khaled has demonstrated doing good for others with his academic and communication efforts. He has also founded the Islamic Club. The purpose of the club is to foster good behavior in the lower
grade levels.

2012-2013: Vivian Ali Zohery, Senior (Islamic Saudi Academy Girls’ School)

As a student leader, Vivian has helped to keep the lines of communication open between students and administrators. Because of her efforts, the school community has enjoyed a more productive and positive learning environment.

In addition to her impact on the daily operations of school, Vivian has been working internationally. In the summer of 2011, she attended an international leadership summit for young women called I Live to Lead. There she forged relationships with women ambassadors from many different countries, and emerged with a vision for empowering women across the world. Translating vision into action, Vivian met with ambassadors in Washington DC to discuss prospects for improving the status of women in their home countries. In addition, she represented her school in the School Girls Unite Initiative. As part of her involvement in that organization, she went to the State Department, where she advocated for the expansion of educational opportunities for girls worldwide.

Vivian has also recently completed a 4000 word extended essay focusing on the possibilities for coexistence among religious communities in Egypt. Not only did Vivian focus on the possibility, she also proposed solutions to maintain religious tolerance.

2013-2014: Adam Abutaa, Senior (The Islamic Saudi Academy)

Doing good deeds for one’s fellow man is a trait which will carry one far in life. Kathleen Doyle, Chair of the English Department at ISA, says that Adam Abutaa has exhibited this trait since middle school by his involvement in the Model United Nations and student government while juggling a full academic schedule.

Ms. Doyle notes that Adam has taken on roles of increasing responsibility with these organizations which required adept communication across a range of people including faculty, student, and administrative personnel. Even though Adam lives far from school, he has managed to coordinate his course requirements with his various activities. Most impressive though, she says, is Adam’s ability to achieve this while maintaining a calm, purposeful approach and a sensitivity to others which results in comprehensive solutions to many difficult problems. In particular, he has facilitated the coordination among the four schools in the building: the Boys and Girls Elementary Schools and the Boys and Girls High Schools.

2014-2015: Amina Nahavandi, Senior (Islamic Saudi Academy)

Striving for the wellbeing of humankind is among Amina’s core values. She is involved in many community service projects -- dedicating herself to help the poor, the disadvantaged, and those on the margins of society.

When it comes to serving those in need, Amina draws no boundaries. She has worked through the Community Service Club, participating in a Walkathon for the Homeless and in food, clothing, and toy drives. She visited residents of a nursing home and worked on hosting a blood drive. To assist internationally, she participated in a bracelet sale with the proceeds going to the victims of a typhoon in the Philippines and in a clothing drive to aid families displaced by the civil war in Syria.

As a representative of the Islamic Saudi Academy to the Model United Nations, Amina demonstrates her passion for understanding and solving issues of local and global significance, while cultivating her skills of diplomacy and peacekeeping. Additionally, she mentors other Model United Nations participants, extending her enthusiasm and skills to less experienced club members.

As Vice President of the DC Student Advisory Board of GLI Chapters, Lina works with chapters in area schools to educate their students about current events and to teach them to create solutions to inequality both in their partner schools abroad and in their own schools and communities. Lina started an internship in February with the Feminist Majority Foundation, where she will work to expand GLI.

A poem that Lina wrote, A Real Girl, was chosen to be presented at the Girls Speak Out Summit at the United Nations in October, which was broadcasted over the Internet. Her poem discusses rape and how it is often viewed by society.

Lina plans to continue her studies in Foreign Service. School Counselor Moira Jones sums it up, “Lina cares about the world around her, and she works for equality and justice. Lina wants to change the world, and I think she can!”

2015-2016: Laith Abuhaija, Senior (Islamic Saudi Academy)

Laith has worked to promote peace through social justice both as part of school activities and during summer vacations. He was a delegate from his school to weekend interscholastic Model United Nations conferences during his sophomore and junior years. He values these experiences as they have deepened his understanding of world conflicts and strengthened his research, speaking, and listening skills. He says they have also exposed him to thoughtful viewpoints, not necessarily his own.

For the past two years, Laith has been one of a small group of students chosen by Islamic Saudi Academy (ISA) faculty and administration to participate in interfaith dialogues with students from Ad Fontes Academy, a Christian School in Centreville. This year, he served as co-host for the visiting Ad Fontes students. “I saw how so many Christian beliefs – belief in love and caring for the poor – are the same as our Muslim beliefs,” he said.

Laith worked with ISA’s Community Service Club in the days leading up to Thanksgiving to collect, prepare, and deliver food to a homeless shelter in Washington, DC. During his summer breaks, Laith volunteered with Islamic Relief USA, an organization which states that “the protection and well-being of every life is of paramount importance and we shall join with other humanitarians to act as one in responding to suffering brought on by disasters, poverty and injustice.” He designed and distributed brochures for Islamic Relief USA fundraising dinners. In the summer of 2014, his work focused on Gaza, and the suffering of Arab people there. Using his proficiency in both Arabic and English, Laith downloaded and edited the reports of guardians of orphans in Gaza and forwarded them to the sponsors of those children in the US.

2016-2017: Naba Khan and Shafia Talat, Juniors

Naba Khan and Shafia Talat are the first generation in their families to grow up in the United States. They greatly value the benefits they enjoy here, but they are eager to help others less fortunate. They say this is what led them to found Women of the World (WOW). Shafia describes WOW as an organization “promoting women’s rights and helping women going through difficulties such as homelessness, hunger, oppression, or abuse.”

The girls have worked with family members in Nalgonda, India to open a sewing institute. Acceptance to the program is based on economic and personal need. The goal is to provide financial independence to women through employment in the textile industry or in their own business.

Their family members living in India provide the implementation and oversight, and WOW supplies the funding for the teacher, the rent, the utilities, and all the sewing supplies used in the class. A local woman was hired to teach the class of 15-20 students.

One or two times each month, Naba and Shafia involve the whole student body in fund raisers. So far this school year, their events have included Candy Grams, an ice cream sale, a Women’s International Day Assembly, and a henna art stand.

WOW contributes to the formation of a more peaceful world by helping remove the barriers that exist between the privileged and the underprivileged. As Naba explains it, “By breaking gender barriers and empowering women to do the best they can, we are promoting the ideas of peace and acceptance among communities, regardless of gender.”

2017-2018: Sarah Osman, Senior

Sarah Osman has been participating RefAmerica, a new organization that engages high school students to advocate for and assist refugees in the transition to life in the US. Last summer, RefAmerica brought together young Syrian refugees from throughout the country with local American high school students in the Washington DC area.  Sarah helped organize a ‘Thanksgiving in July’ event to introduce refugees to this holiday and accompanied students to congressional offices where they were given the opportunity to share their stories and where Sarah advocated for refugee resettlement by highlighting the plight both of Syrian refugees and of refugees throughout history.  Sarah’s interest in helping others also extends to assisting the children of women who have survived domestic abuse.

2018-2019: Kamila Elyazgi, Senior

Moved by the plight of children in war-torn Sudan and Aleppo, Kamila Elyazgi said she felt compelled to form a global charity club at her school. She and several like-minded classmates launched a book drive for needy Sudanese children and created Project Humanity.

As president of Project Humanity, Kamila holds weekly meetings to initiate and oversee charitable events. Under her leadership, club members held bake sales to raise funds for victims of Hurricane Irma and the earthquake in Indonesia. They also led a toy drive for Syrian children in Jordanian refugee camps, which included uplifting messages from elementary school children. They collaborated with UNICEF and the Islamic Circle of North America to ensure that the books, toys, messages, and funds reached their intended recipients.

Kamila says, “Project Humanity’s accomplishments would not have been possible without the contributions of my co-founders and club members. What I hold closest to my heart is the goal of Project Humanity: Awareness of humanitarian crises and finding ways to aid as many victims as possible. This is my life-long commitment.”

Kamila organized an assembly that addressed school shootings and the need for gun control. Responding to the Parkland school shooting, she led a walkout to protest gun violence and to promote peaceful dialogue. She also participated in George Mason University’s Conflict Resolution Youth Summit and in the Capitol Leadership Academy, which promotes empowerment and political involvement of minorities. Last summer she met with the staffs of Senator Warner and Congressman Connolly to advocate for U.S. border policy reform.

2019-2020: Jena Musmar, Junior

Jena Musmar is an active member of Project Humanity, a student-run club that focuses on initiating and supporting humanitarian aid efforts both in the US and internationally. As part of this effort, Jena helped the club promote and conduct a bake sale which raised $400 to aid natural-disaster victims in Indonesia. She was also a leader in organizing a student walkout to commemorate the victims of the Lakewood and Columbine school shootings and to demand legislative action to prevent further gun violence.

Jena explains that the stability of her life here in the US serves a greater purpose -- to better the lives of war-torn families and refugees in the Middle East who have been deprived of hope and the resources for a better future. Jena volunteers with

the nonprofit Collateral Repair Project (www.collateralrepairproject.org), which was started in Jordan 14 years ago to support refugees from the war in Iraq. CRP has recently expanded to support refugees fleeing other conflict areas.

This past summer CRP provided Jena with the opportunity to participate in its work in Amman, Jordan. There she taught English to Iraqi refugees (ages 13 to 70) and ran arts-and-crafts classes for urban refugee children. Of the experience Jena says, “I loved teaching the adults; it was so gratifying to see evidence of progress and encouragement. It especially touched me when an older woman said that her purpose for learning English was to possibly help her children get a better life. This work has motivated me to continue engaging in activities that have a practical effect in promoting multinational peace, cultural awareness, and understanding within our northern Virginia community as well in the Middle East.”

Jena also currently serves as vice president of the Palestinian Youth Club. The members volunteer to feed the needy and homeless in concert with other local charitable organizations, including FAITH Herndon and D.C. Central Kitchen.