Mohammed AL-Abdulla

3/22/12

                       Knowing about Dr Sherry Lamb Schirmer

Yesterday meeting with a history professor Dr Sherry Lamb Schirmer was fun. I asked her about how she grew up, what things did she does for Avila as well as for her family and her future goals.

We started the interview with how she grew up. According to Dr Sherry Lamb Schirmer she said that she learned from her father that words are important. Dr Sherry Lamb Schirmer also said that the love that her father had for gaining knowledge, reading, and writing shaped her life and made her love writing.

The main thing that she has achieved for Avila University is publishing a book about Race relations between African American and white people. According to Dr Cherry Lamb Schirmer started to explain the book by saying that her book started with her doctorial dissertation. Schirmer also said she did lots of research in books and papers about the attitudes toward Race that she recognized as being apart of her middle class white background. In addition, Dr Sherry Lamb Schirmer said she recognized statements about African Americans and she wanted to know where those come from and because of that she wrote her book. Also, she had the ability to make the students love as well as be involved in history, which makes her feel successful at Avila.

According to Dr Sherry Lamb Schirmer the things that make her successful in her family life come from her father and grandmother. Her father loved words and her grandmother was really interested in education. Her grandmother sacrificed tremendously to get all her children educated including moving away from her husband. She took her children to town schools instead of country schools because she thought it was better for them. So, because of that she moved to town with all her children, leaving her husband by himself to take care of the farm. Also, she cooked and cleaned for a hotel in town so she could have money to rent a home and provide a good family life for her children who went to school over there. According to Dr Sherry Lamb Schirmer, her grandmother’s dedication to education played a part in her desire to get the highest degree she could get in writing of some fashion.

 According to Dr Sherry Lamb Schirmer, she always imagined herself retiring to some acreage, a place where she could tend the ground and grow flowers and plant a garden. Now she finds that she can’t do that physically, plus her voice is getting weaker. So, because of that she has decided she would like to retire as soon as she can.

Mohammed AL-Abdulla

3/21/12

                                             Knowing about Linda Strelluf

Yesterday, getting to know Linda Strelluf was really interesting. Learning about how she grew up and how she not only achieved her goals but also became successful in her life made the interview exciting.

We started the interview with how she grew up. Linda Strelluf mentioned that she was lucky because she is the only child from a working class family. She said that her dad built lines, meaning that he fixed machines. She also mentioned that her mom stayed at home with her and that she had lots of attention from her family which she considered special for her even though her family did not have lots of money. She did not have a dog or a cat. She went on family trips. Her life was a typical American one in an old fashioned house. All those things shaped the way she grew up. She likes to read and watch movies.  Also, she always liked to make her parents happy and not disappointed.

The thing that she thinks has made her beneficent and successful in her life, both career and family, is that she always listens and pays attention to what people say. Paying attention and listening to what people were saying and remembering it during growing up helped her a lot. She also said that listening and paying attention is one of the most important and underrated attributes a person can have. The more you listen the more you know about the people around you both in friendships and at work which helps you be more successful in your life.

When her children where small, she decided to take a break from her career and stay at home with her children to raise them. She stopped teaching and she went into business, which she could do at home. When she did that, she learned how to manage time. She said that even though she had lots of things to do, still she took care of her family. She believes that those things were really important.  She also mentioned that a negative side of that is that she is behind in her career. She could be at a big university or a head of a department, but in her mind she believes that taking care of her family comes first and that it is a worthwhile achievement.

One of the achievements that she wants to make in the feature is that she wants one of her students to get recognition. Also, she wants Avila to be known for more than being a nursing school. Instead, Linda says she wants Avila to be known as a school that produces very well educated professional students that would help Avila to succeed. Although she would like to take time to travel more she is happy with what she is doing.

he State of the Union was impressive; it clearly explained the policies that the president would like to use to help the problems that Americans have been worried about. The president encouraged acting together as a team.

The first theme was sharing responsibility through taxes. For example, everybody will pay the same percentage of taxes, not excluding the rich.

Another idea was creating jobs within the country, minimizing international dependence. Instead of USA investing in business outside the country, the business would be invested inside it to benefit the people here.

The final important idea was education. For example, helping to make school tuitions more affordable for the general public and improving education to help citizens improve knowledge.

According to Lauren who believes that the president is right to ask both parties to work together and that if people put aside their differences, things happen. She was in favor of fair tax percentages and also mentioned approving of creating jobs here by making outsourcing more difficult and less profitable.

 If jobs move back to the states it will create more opportunity for Avila students. Also, if the tuition fees for education decrease, families will be more able to afford to send their children to school. Focus on creative and effective education will help new generations become more effective in global society.

Mohammed AL-Abdulla

2/16/2012

                                            English club activity     

The staffs of the English club at Avila University meet in the second floor lobby of Carondelet dorm at seven in the evening and go until nine thirty.  The members of the English club as well as some of the students in the dorm love to play fairytale because it makes them happy.

Also, I enjoyed meeting with different people there like Joshua, Jacob, Kat High, Dani, Dom, and Chris. Each one has a different opinion about the game. According to Joshua he loves to play the game because he plays it with his best friends. Dani says she likes to play this game because it makes her laugh. Dom states that she likes it not because she likes the game but because she prefers to go with the flow. Kat High is the English club president. She said that she likes to play it because she likes to socialize with people plus it is a way to enjoy every moment of her time. According to Chris, he likes to play this game because he is with his friends and helps him be himself. Jacob says he likes to play this game because he likes food and to spend his time with his best friends.

Mohammed AL-Abdulla

2/17/2012

                  Meeting the president of the English club.

My meeting with the president of the English club was fun her name was Kat High. Interviewing her was very interesting.

 She started by telling me when she joined the English club and what position she has. According to Kat High, she has been in the English club for two semesters and she is now the president of the English club.

The second thing I asked her about was what she does for the English club. Kat said that she tries to do different events with the club. Also, she said that she and her staff are trying to get more things done on campus for the English organization.

The third thing I asked her about was what other things she is interested in and likes to do. She answered that she likes to read as well as write and also to work with a non-profit called Prodeo.

Next I asked her why she is interested in working with the Prodeo specifically. According to Kat High, Prodeo serves to create a safe environment for local youth. She does this to prepare for the work she would like to do someday as a teacher.

Then I asked her about what she wants to do for the English club in the future.  Kat said that she is going to start to meet with international students. She also said that they are going to have an event that coincides with the play Jekyll and Hide. Moreover she said that they would start writing letters to the soldiers.

The last thing I asked her about was what things she wanted to do on the 16^th of February. She said that they planned to have a game night and the games would start at seven thirty and go until nine-thirty. The games that they would play were traditional games but are modified to involve literature.

The students at Avila University should go to the club meeting on the 16^th of February to join the English club in the activities that they plan to host that day. 

Mohammed Al-Abdulla

3/3/2012

                                               Voices from Arab America

            Today was a special event at the Thronhill Gallery at Avila University. It was called Voices from Arab America given by Diana Helwani, the author of Sophia journal, and Joan Mandell who makes films exploring the Arab American experience.

            In the Interview with Mandell I asked her about what she felt when she came to America from Palestine. According to her She answered that she wanted Americans to understand the common humanity of Palestinians, the harshness of military occupation but also the joys of Arab cultural heritage.

            Next I asked Mandell and Helwani how their life changed after September 11, 2001. According to them, they responded that life became more complicated. During that time in Kansas City there were a lot of people reaching out to the Islamic community including the Catholic school across the street from the Islamic school. The kids there sent cards to the Islamic kids saying they would support them and that they knew that they were good people and not like the terrorists. They also had good communication with local churches, the police force and other members of the community.

            Another thing I asked about was if they believed that the Arab community has become acceptable in the United States.  According to Mandell and Helwani they believed that the Arabic community had a long way to go to become completely accepted by the people in the United States and that it’s the responsibility of Muslims to represent themselves well so that people have a good example of what a Muslim is. They also expressed that they believe it is important for the Muslim community to find a balance between maintaining and showing its identity while still engaging with the local community.

            Mandel and Helwani also discussed feelings they had about September 11 at the time. Their hope, at first, was that it was not a Muslim attack. When it was confirmed they felt very sad, they felt that it would be like another Watergate: feelings between the Muslim community and the rest of the country would never be the same.

            We also discussed the difficulties of finding marriage partners for Muslim in the United States. According to Mandel and Halwani it is difficult to get married in the United States especially these days.

 According to Mandel and Helwani about Americans, identity here in the United States due to different values and community organizing.

  Asking Dana Halwani in  becoming  an American Muslim was interesting.  According to her, was a young married woman who wanted to convert 

her husband to Christianity. In trying to find the weaknesses of Islam, 

she was convinced and converted. 

Mohammed AL-Abdulla

2/28/12

           English club are focusing on international students.

According to the English club members and leadership, as of February 28, they are all still working on ideas for how to get the international students interested and involved in the English club. Also, in making different activities or think in different ways to get international students involved.

 According to Kat High, the president of the English club, she and her staff are still working on bringing international students to the English club. Also, according the president of the English club, they are starting a new sub group within the English club called Lead Circle. This group will start off by focusing on literature and also on learning more about culture and language through culture. According to the president of the English club is by learning more about culture and language it help us in brining the international students to the English club.

According to a member of the staff of the English club who’s name is Felicia, right now the club’s main focus is working on increasing the membership of the English club with a diverse group of both native English speaking students and international students. Also, according to Felicia, they are trying to get more activities lined up to get the entire campus more interested in and involved with the English club, hoping that this too will boost their numbers.

According to Renee, another staff member of the English club, they will be starting on a lead circle to engage international students in the club. They hope to do this through the use of fairytales and also just general discussion about that and other sources of literature.