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Claude Khalil:
“I consider IC as a land of opportunities”
I joined IC in 1972, right after I graduated from school. I
started as a teacher’s aide at the Elementary School while
pursuing my university studies. When I got my BA degree
in Archeology I became an instructor, and continued with
my Master’s degree. In 1988 I was transferred to Ain Aar to
help establish and run a new school. There, I became the
coordinator for Arabic and Social Studies. My family goes
back four generations at IC; my grandmother worked there,
followed by my father, then I came along, and finally my
children were IC students.
Many things happened in thirty years that were at once
joyful and tearful, encouraging and disappointing, expect-
ed and unpredictable. I shall never forget the year we spent
living on campus in Ras Beirut along with other staff
because of the Lebanese war. Throughout the years, not a
single day has passed without my students making me
laugh. I remember in the lower classes, I used to say to stu-
dents: “Why don’t you study? Will that make your stomach
hurt?”, and so one day, after asking a student: “Why don’t
you study?”, a little girl named Zeina Khoury answered me:
“His stomach will hurt him, Miss!”
Sometimes I marvel at the “creativity” of my students,
especially when creating their own excuses; a girl came to
me once with a note, supposedly written by her mother,
and the note read: “Please excuse my daughter for not
bringing her Arabic homework today because she forgot it
at home.”
Last year I had the honor of representing IC in Connecticut,
USA, in a cultural exchange program between my school
and Watkinson School. Just recently, I was granted the
Abela Award of Achievement as teacher of the year in my
section.
Finally, I have a confession to make: I have learned from
my students as much as I have taught them…if not more!
Michel Sarru ’62:
IC Alumnus and IC Teacher
Forty blessed years have passed since I joined IC. The first
three years were as a student at the secondary school, the
others as a teacher of Arabic language and translation. I
have served as department head and as
an advisor for the Arabic club and Sawt
esh-Shabab magazine.
Successive generations have moved in
and out of IC with a hasty pace as I
watched them with great pride and
admiration. I am still here at IC to
expect the recurrent monotonous sound
of the ringing bell and to challenge the
inevitable march of time.
My recollections shine brightly with
names of great celebrities in the world
of business, politics, and administra-
tion, as well as other fields of life. Of
the most prominent figures I mention
his highness Emir Faysal Soudayri of Saudi Arabia, successful
businessman Mr. Fouad Makhzoumi, His Excellency Mr.
Jaber Yassine, His Excellency Mr. Arthur Nazarian, Head of
the Middle East Council of Churches Reverend Habib Badr,
foreign minister of Jordan His Excellency Marwan al-
Mawashshir, Mr. Jaafar al Shalabi of Iraq, Mr. Said Hatlani,
Mr. Rached al Rached, Mr. Ahmad al-Rached, and many
brilliant doctors and leading figures in the field of medicine,
such as Dr Samir Akel, Dr Basem al-Shab, Dr Jamal Taha, Dr
Ibrahim Kouleilat, Dr Samir Kanaze’.
I contributed to Sawt esh-Shabab as an advisor and am
proud that this publication has always reflected the creative
writing of IC students, issued so many essays on current
problems, and interviewed some of the leading political fig-
ures in Lebanon, such as: His Excellency former President of
Lebanon Elias Hraweh, Minister Fouad Sanioura, former First
Lady of Lebanon Mona Hraweh, Greek Orthodox Patriarch
His Beatitude Aghnatious Hazim, former an-Nahar editor-in-
chief His Excellency Mr. Ghassan Tueni, famous poets such
as Omar Abou Richeh, Nizar Kabbani, and Abdallah el-
Akhtal, artists such as Ziad Rahbaneh, and all the presidents
of IC.
Nowadays, the calls of Mother Earth are pounding higher
and higher in my ears. I will respond and be close to the
earth, maybe to take care of a rose bush, a vine and an
apple tree, to enjoy the tranquility of nature, and to meditate
in the solitude of the forests about the fluctuation of the suc-
cessive seasons, in an attempt to seek peace of mind and
soul.
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