Thank you

Before I begin blogging, I would like to acknowledge everyone who has made this experience a reality.

Specifically, I would like to thank the Monterey Institute of International Studies and its faculty for offering their students the possibility to participate in the International Professional Service Semester (IPSS). For those of you who may not know what this is, IPSS is a six-month practicum course that combines an internship and a research project. Students can choose what organization to work for anywhere in the world. I chose and was welcomed to work for Hand in Hand in Jerusalem.

To them I am also thankful. Thank you, Hand in Hand, for giving me the opportunity to be a part of your organization for a whole six months. I am very excited to learn more in-depth about the mission, how it is carried out, and what the challenges of such an organization are.

I would also like to thank the Boren Fellowship for funding this incredible opportunity. Thanks to this award, not only will I be carrying out a research project and doing an internship, but I will also be learning some more Arabic. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to achieve these career goals and helping get one step closer to fulfilling my dreams.

Not only are these organizations indispensable for my being here, but also the people in them who believe in me and my potential. Thank you for letting me be a part of your respective institutions. I will do my very best every day to accomplish all that I have set forth to do.

The reason for my success thus far in life are the people who have been a part of it, who have encouraged and supported my dreams, and who have helped me find ways to accomplish them. There are many of you out there that deserve credit for this; family, friends and professors. I would like to specially mention my father and my mother.

Without my father’s example of work ethic and perseverance I would not be here. Through his hard work, he was able to provide me with endless possibilities for my career and my future. I am incredibly fortunate and thankful to be able to have my first experience working on the ground in the land to where my roots can be traced back.

I would like to thank my mother for being such a strong and positive role model. Thank you for instilling in me such strong values and sense of responsibility toward the others. You teach by example; I know what it means to be an extraordinary person because you are, and that is what I aspire to be.

To the rest of my family, friends, and professors, thank you for your being there for me. Thank you for offering words of wisdom and encouragement when I need them, and thanks for also listening. I cannot stress enough how important you are in my life and in helping me become the person I want to be.

Thank you all for making this possible.