Sheer joy for dreams come true
Lee Benson
But you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone any more appreciative.
If sheer joy is the trigger for how high you throw that graduation cap, look for Mohammad Aleiwe's somewhere near Jupiter.
Mohammad will be awarded his master's degree Saturday morning at the University of Phoenix's commencement exercises at the E Center. He's not on the program to give a talk, but if he gave one, this is what he would say:
"I tell you, I'm at the top of the mountain. I have realized all my childhood dreams. I am an American and I am a college graduate. The Lord has given me more than I could have ever asked for. If nothing else happens in my life I can die a happy man."
Mohammad's effusiveness can be traced to those days when he was a youngster and would lie on his back in the Arabian desert and dream of one day coming to America.
That was in the 1960s in Kuwait, the Persian Gulf country where he was born to Palestinian parents, which officially made them, and him, refugees, relegated to the "other lines" when applying for a job, shopping in the grocery store, even waiting for a restroom.
"It was all I wanted," he remembers.
He got his wish in 1979 when he applied for a student visa and found himself enrolled at a small private college in South Carolina.
The first stab at school didn't last long. Life got in the way. But between mastering English, working two jobs, getting married and divorced and married again, raising children, climbing all the way up to general manager at Wendy's and dropping in and out of school so many times he lost count, Mohammad never lost sight of one day actually finishing college.
Finally, in 2005 he graduated with a bachelor's degree in English from Weber State University, the same year he got his U.S. citizenship.
That launched him toward the master's degree in English secondary teaching that the University of Phoenix will bestow upon him tomorrow.
"People told me I was too old," says Mohammad, who is 47. "They said that it was too late to start again. But I have always kept with me that dream that a little boy in the Arabian desert had so long ago."
In America, you can do anything.
Now, to prove he has adapted completely to his adopted homeland, he's not sure what he's going to do with his education.
He could start a teaching career. Or he could capitalize on the demand for people who have a graduate degree and are fluent in both Arabic and English.
"I'm considering both of those choices," says Mohammad, who then adds a third possibility.
"I'm also seriously considering going after my Ph.D.," he says. "I know how much work that would be at 47 but also how satisfying."
Freedom. It's a beautiful thing.
Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com and faxes to 801-237-2527.
Recent comments
Mohammad is one of the finest men I know. It has been and is a priveledge...
David | May 8, 2008 at 1:13 p.m.
Great column Lee..and yes, that is what America is supposed to be...
EdM | May 2, 2008 at 7:29 a.m.
