Basic HTML Version
5
Issam Jabara ‘57
I was born in Jdeidet Merjeyoun in South Lebanon and completed my elementary and middle
school at Merjeyoun National College.
My family decided to send me to Beirut to continue my high school and college education, so in
1953, I joined the IC Boarding School, which at that time was located at Thompson Hall. The day
I arrived, I was not familiar with the rules. I had not eaten all day and was waiting for food to come
– to no avail. My hunger finally made me complain. The instructor, Mr. Sami Talhouk, started
laughing and informed me that it was 9 pm and that the cafeteria only remained open until 7 pm.
The cafeteria concept was something new to me. The only alternative choice to eat was to shout
for help to “Walid,” the owner of a sandwich restaurant adjacent to the basketball court of IC. At
that time, the cost of two sandwiches was 30 piasters. My first day went well at last.Chemistry
Instructor Sami Talhouk was our adviser. I had two other roommates, and not only rooms were
shared, but also showers. Getting adjusted to this new dormitory student life was difficult and yet
fun. Off course, problems between students were common, but they were always solved peacefully by the instructors. After
Thompson Hall, I had to familiarize myself with other buildings. The year went by very fast. I developed friendships with
the other students, 40 to 50 percent of whom were foreigners. I also became familiar with new activities and sports and
other sources of entertainment like clubs and movies. I became a member of the sport club and the music club.
Our English teacher, Mr. York, started to teach us how to dance the rock and roll. The social club was expanding, and we
were organizing more parties, the first of which was at the president’s house. More parties were later organized in the cafe-
teria, courts and IC buildings. We were generally not allowed to leave the IC buildings, except on special occasions. These
parties were rare occasions for us to meet girls, since those were the only events where we were allowed to mix. I remem-
ber that it was during that year, on March 16, 1956, that the famous earthquake happened. I was studying in my room
when I felt the whole building shaking, the sirens were turned on and we all fled hysterically out of Sage Hall to the bas-
ketball court – some with clothes and some empty handed. We did not know what was going on. It was later that we
learned that a major earthquake had occurred and killed or injured hundreds of people in the Bekaa Valley.
The sports club organized a bicycling tournament. We left that day at 7 am, 12 of us, after we had rented bicycles, and
returned at 6 pm at night. Those outings and indoor parties were fun and allowed us to get to know many talented stu-
dents. As far as faculty, I remember Mr. Hassan Baltagi playing the piano and Nabil Sukkar from Syria. I also remember
Mr. Vitier, the French teacher, Mr. York, the English teacher, Mr. Nadi Nadir the math teacher, Mr. Shafic Jeha for history,
Mr. Sami Talhouk for chemistry, Mr. Wafic Alameddine for sports and for Arabic a guy with an incredible sense of humor,
Mr. Alfred Khoury. The president was Mr. Leslie Leavitt, a very serious man with an extremely good heart. After the great
days at IC, at Sage Hall, I joined AUB. A few years after I left AUB, I married Souad Ferzli in 1970 and had two children,
Sami, who is currently a physician in reproductive surgery and infertility in Texas, and Tania, who has a Masters in Public
Health and works for the American Life Insurance Company. Those were the days my friend, we thought they would never
end!
PROFILE:
Hiba Chaaban joins IC
as the Director of Human Resources
We are pleased to announce the appointment of Hiba Chaaban Abdul Reda, a certified Professional in Human Resources
(PHR), to the position of Director of Human Resources.
With over seven years of experience in the field, Hiba brings to the position her past experience in the Education industry
plus a solid background in Computer and Communications Engineering from AUB.
Hiba strongly believes that human capital is an organization’s major asset. She considers employees to be her primary cus-
tomers and she will design systems to ensure that HR will contribute directly to meet their needs and expectations.
Hiba said, “IC is a true leader in the Education Industry
and I am ecstatic to be a part of the team. I think my
experience and passion for HR will be valuable in serving
our employees well.”
In her new role, Hiba welcomes all inquiries regarding
the responsibilities of her office and looks forward to
soliciting employees input and suggestions in both Ras
Beirut and Ain Aar campuses.
She can be reached at hchaaban@ic.edu.lb or ext. 218.
My IC Story