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Zakir Siddik ’72:
Tracing My Footsteps
When I received the invitation to write "My IC Story," I did
not hesitate at all. It’s the best part of my life, I am
extremely proud to tell people about it, and IC will
remain the bright beacon of light throughout the remain-
der of my living days…!
I joined IC in the autumn of 1965 in the 1st Secondary
English Section (1 A), graduated with Honorable Mention
from its High-School Section in June 1971, and tried sev-
eral weeks of instruction in the IB program before finally
deciding in 1972 to depart for the USA to pursue my uni-
versity education.
I was so happy when I could finally visit IC with my fam-
ily in the summer of 2004, after almost 30 years, and was
able to show my wife (Hanan) and teenaged kids (Sami &
Samia) around its
grounds, classrooms,
and my favorite weep-
ing willow and pine
trees…It was like
finally coming home,
especially when I
think of the warm
reception
that
I
received from the
head and staff of the
Alumni
Affairs
Department….
…That day, memories
came flooding back:
Initial Memories:
I will never forget my first day at IC at Thompson Hall (a
Sunday afternoon), where I was supposed to stay as a
boarding student. Although Mr. Sullivan and his col-
leagues, as well as my fellow students, were very kind, I
could not bear the feeling of loneliness, of being away
from home…It was the first time for me… A new envi-
ronment, a foreign language (my English skills were very
limited), and being away from my family in Saudi
Arabia…What did I know at that point of the golden times
ahead and of the sadness I would feel some years later
when it came time to depart from the closely knit IC
family …?!
The next thing was a confrontation with lessons (only
Arabic was being taught in that language; everything else
was in English…!).
Frustration and hopelessness further set in when my first
school report read in bold red letters:
"Special Advice
Needed in English Language,"
with several Es and F's star-
ing blankly at me!!
Making matters worse were my classmates, who missed
no opportunity to tease me… (Some of them eventually
turned out to become closer to me than my own family)!
However, those times at IC taught me to: not give up at
any cost, fight on, and work on change for the better…
Hard work:
I faced the challenge, and emerged as the top grade-scorer in
the final English language exam in 1 A. My English teacher
was pleased, my family thrilled, and my friends happy…
I shall never forget the tutoring of Mr. Betts, the guidance
of Mr. Hourani, the teachings of Mr. Hill, and the smart
remarks of Mr. Sullivan, besides others who worked very
hard during that first year
for me to get through…!
From then onwards I
knew for sure that IC was
my new home, its faculty
my new family, and my
classmates my eternal
friends…And this has
proven to be so right!!
IC taught me: never to
despair, work hard and
selflessly, believe in myself,
fight for a just cause, and
above all, never underesti-
mate others.
Special People:
How can I ever forget the difficulties I faced in my first year
of learning Physics, later resolved through lots of painstak-
ingly logical explanations from Mr. Hagazian? Those days
have stuck with me all through my life, giving me logic to
depend on when I needed to make sound decisions, rea-
soning skills in my work and private life, and making me
prompt my son to work so hard on his Physics lessons that
he has now opted to pursue Engineering at the university…!
What fun we had with Mr. Azar in his Chemistry classes…
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My IC Story
Zakir Siddik ’72 (circled above) in his first year at IC grade 1A, 1965