May 23, 2005 :: No. 214

When Rudy Gharib speaks about international relations, she speaks from the heart, as well as from experience.

The graduating Cal State Fullerton student and first-generation Arab-American was a freshman in her second week at the university when planes hurtled into the World Trade Center in New York. Although she had often thought about being Arab in Southern California, she says it was that singular incident that gave her a sense of duty, a reason for being where she is.

“As tragic as 9/11 was, it really woke up something in me about the importance of developing a better understanding between my culture and this country,” she says, adding that she had a relative who worked in the World Trade Center and just happened to be outside it when the planes hit. “It’s a duty to have the Arab culture seen in a positive way.”

Gharib, who graduates this month with a bachelor’s degree in the majors of political science and communications, is this year’s recipient of the university’s International Understanding Award, which recognizes personal contributions to increase international understanding through leadership activities on campus with clubs and university-sponsored programs.

Less than a year after 9/11, Gharib traveled to Egypt as an exchange student at the American University in Cairo. On the first anniversary of the attack, she took part in a transatlantic dialogue between students from Cairo and America. She also gained her first professional experiences as a journalist, writing features and articles about events and people from the university for local Egyptian newspapers. This semester, she worked as the opinion editor for the Daily Titan, the university’s student newspaper.

In addition to her studies, Gharib was a member of Cal State Fullerton’s award-winning Model United Nations delegation and a student director at the American Model UN in Chicago last fall. For nearly two years, she worked as a student assistant in the International Education and Exchange Office and discussed international politics and the importance of cultural understanding on several campus panels. She also co-founded the Middle Eastern Society, a student organization on campus.

Off campus, the Fontana resident is a leader for a troop of Brownies, all Muslim and many, like herself, are first-generation Arab-Americans. She takes them camping and to plays, but notes that what she really does is serve as a role model, helping them find links between their heritage and the community where they live.

“I’ve always felt that I live in two distinct worlds — Egyptian and American — and I used to try to keep them separate,” she says. Not anymore.

“Whatever I do, wherever I go, I will continue to strive to make a link between my two worlds, to create better understanding,” Gharib says. This summer, she will serve as an intern at the Arab-American Institute in Washington, D.C., and she hopes to obtain a master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies.

Gharib will be honored on Friday, May 27, during the university’s annual Honors Convocation. The university’s commencement ceremonies are scheduled for Saturday, May 28, and Sunday, May 29.

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