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Yousef Sayegh:
a Pillar of the IC Community
Few things could be better than starting your morning chatting with one
of your former teachers, as Moufid Beydoun did recently with Mr.
Yousef Sayegh, a remarkable teacher who left a profound impression
on his students’ lives. Mr. Sayegh dedicated forty-one years of his life
to teaching math in our Secondary School. By showing the practicality
of conceptual mathematics, he made math classes fun and insightful.
Taking a math class with Mr. Sayegh was, mathematically speaking,
multiplying learning by the added absolute value of commitment and
interest in a student’s mind. He had a tremendous impact on his stu-
dents’ lives beyond his role as math teacher and was a mentor in life’s
biggest challenges. He considered “teaching to be educating the stu-
dent as a whole person and not only in the math course requirements.”
The friendship he developed with his students was highly valued and
because of that his students were willing to give their maximum to
achieve the academic goals he asked of them.
Sometimes Mr. Sayegh would interrupt a lesson to tell a story that
might influence students’ integrity with its message of patience or per-
severance. Other inter-
ruptions were because
of his new blue Ford
Falcon. He used to take
a look through the win-
dow of Room 201 to
make sure nobody was
sitting on his car.
Mr. Sayegh still has
the soft smile that can
transfer solid geometry
into an interesting sub-
ject. Handsome and
elegant as ever, he is
now enjoying his life
with his wife in Beirut.
Mr. Sayegh’s second-
ary education was at
Gerard Institute in
Sidon. He joined AUB’s
School of Engineering after considering whether or not to study
medicine. He later graduated with honors as a civil engineer and
worked for a year in Palestine before joining IC in 1948, where he
stayed until the year 1989. He has three children: Samir (Dr. Samir
Sayegh), Rima, and Maha. Dr. Samir Sayegh is an orthodontist in
Edinburgh. Maha works with him, and Rima is married and has
two children, Marwan and Zeina, who are IC graduates just like
their parents. “IC is remarkable for its interaction with the parents,
alumni, and teachers,” Mr. Sayegh says. He spends his time
enjoying sports, reading, and traveling abroad to visit his children
and grandchildren.
He also has a great memory and keeps track of his former stu-
dents’. “Most of them are now very famous,” he says. He even point-
ed out those who excelled academically, “namely Ray Irani ’50, who
skipped one class because of his extraordinary academic perform-
ance. Raja Nicolas Khouri ’51 was a genius, Kamal Khuri-Makdissi
’84 scored 100 in math throughout the year. Kamal had a baby face,
so the first time I entered the class I though that he was in the wrong
place and he probably belonged in middle school.” Mr. Sayegh also
names many of his students who were “not quite as good in math,”
but of course we cannot mention their names!
7
the ray irani endowed
merit scholar
International College is very grateful to Dr. Ray R. Irani, ’50, for his magnificent gift
to IC to set up the
Ray R. Irani Endowed Merit Scholarship
. The recipient of the
Ray R. Irani Merit Scholar, will be an IC secondary student in the Science track,
with proven financial need and ranking in the top 5 percentile of his/her class.
The first “Ray R. Irani Merit Scholarship” was awarded to
Khairat Al Habbal
.
Khairat is enrolled in the scientific section of the Lebanese Baccalaureate; she
ranks first among her 83 classmates and holds the highest grade point average
(91.95) in the entire secondary school. Among her extracurricular activities, she
is a member in the photography club, the horticultural club, the crafts club, and
the computer club.
On November 7th, a ceremony was held in the Alumni/Development office in
Beirut to present the first Ray Irani Merit Scholar certificate to Ms. Khairat.
On behalf of all us here at IC we would like to thank Dr. Ray R. Irani’50 for his
generous contribution.
Mr. Yousef Sayegh in class sometime in
the late 1950's.
Mr. Yousef Sayegh at dinner sometimes in the 50’s
Mr. Sayegh and his granddaughter Catarina.
Left to right: Moufid Beydoun, Arthur Charles, Khairat
Al Habbal and Yousef Korfali