Issue 4: Why I Love Teaching at VIU?

When people ask me why I teach at VIU, which is far away from my home, instead of teaching at nearby universities in Maryland, I have one answer: I love my students at VIU and I feel that they love me too. But there are many reasons why I love teaching at VIU.

Issue 4: Don’t Call VIU’s “Adventure Guy” Disabled

Xabier Mendes, a graduate student at VIU, enthusiastically agreed when we asked to feature him on the cover of this issue of University Magazine. Through the process of photographing and interviewing him, we were constantly reminded of his positive attitude, infectious spirit, and kindness to others. Hailing from Spain, Xabier fills his life with adventure. His list of activities has no end: he climbs, surfs, runs, snowboards and skateboards, lifts weights, plays soccer, swims – you name it, he has done it. But most importantly, Xabier dreams big. His future goals include starting a family and investing in his own business and watching it grow globally. What challenges has Xabier Mendes overcome to get where he is today and what is he doing now to achieve his dreams? Continue reading to find out.

Overcoming Obstacles: Manar Alhazmi

We recently sat down with one of our students, Manar Alhazmi, who is currently completing the elementary level of VIU’s ESL program. Her talent, determination, and personal story have made her family, teachers, and peers admire her, and I was eager to meet her myself. As a genuinely open person, Manar is strong enough to share her life with us, and she hopes that her story will inspire and motivate others.    

It’s not Manar’s first time in America; in fact, when she was seven, her family lived in Los Angeles for nine months. By the time she went home to Saudi Arabia, Manar had already fallen in love with America, its people and environment. Her favorite aspect is everyone’s friendly smiles and greetings. Manar is now back with a big vision: to improve her English and earn her MBA degree in Healthcare Management.  

Manar’s longtime dream has been to become a hospital manager, and she continues to overcome many obstacles to reach it. At the age of 10, Manar suffered from a serious illness and fell into a coma, staying in a hospital for many months. Although Manar’s loved ones were next to her and she had excellent medical care, she was still shocked at the sudden change in her life. Because she could no longer take care of herself, Manar started to give up hope of ever being a “normal” person able to walk, run, work or even hang out with friends.

I was curious as to her turning point and how she came from that low point at the hospital to being a healthy, energetic student in America. Manar credits her parents with her incredible improvement, and her “second chance at life.” When Manar was in the coma, “it was a very rough time for [her] parents to see [her] staying in bed day and night.” After six months, Manar finally left the hospital to continue her treatments at home. Her parents encouraged her to continue her exercises and her dad demanded that she continue her studies and stay strong, to “battle the disease in order to become a healthy and successful girl.” Manar completed high school and received her Bachelor’s degree from a university in Saudi Arabia. “Now I can do everything with my walker and my wheelchair,” she says. “I am always thankful to my parents for holding my hand and teaching me to fight for life. Without them, I would not be here today.” Her eyes turn tearful when she talks about her mother, Hanan Al Ahmadi and her father, Faisal Al Hazmi, a policeman who works tirelessly for his family of seven.
Her passion is helping children who suffer from illness. To make that dream come true, Manar pushes herself harder than ever. “I want to make new things which I didn’t find when I was in the hospital. It was very boring, and I had a hard time. Even though parents and friends come to visit you, something is still missing there. No matter how sick children are, they need time to play. There are no activities to make children happy!”

For Manar, learning from her VIU professors means not only speaking English better but having more confidence in herself. “I was very shy when I first spoke, but today, because of my great teachers, I love to interact with others. VIU is helping my dreams come true!” Manar also enjoys the wheelchair access available on campus at VIU, on the streets and even on buses, which, she says makes it easy for her to get around. “Some people beg for food or money in the street. They are healthy, they can walk, run, and work. They can do anything they want, earn enough to buy food or even a house,” Manar says seriously, from the bottom of her heart. “Right before I came to the USA, I worked at a hospital as a receptionist. The manager told me to study and come back, that I will be the hospital manager, and I will do it!” Manar is so positive and motivated that her attitude is contagious, “In the near future, I will walk without a walker, run, even travel all over the world. Nothing is impossible. I will make it happen.”

And you will, Manar. With hard work, an excellent education and a great support system anyone can succeed!

University Magazine, Volume 1, 2014

VIU Professor Takes Education Abroad

Picture Credit: Michael Jarosz, www.500px.com/mikejarosz

On a cloudy afternoon in January 2014, 600 college students from around the world gathered near the port of Santiago, Chile to embark on the journey of a lifetime. These students were about to step foot aboard the MV Explorer, a 590 foot, 25,000 ton ship for the next 120 days.  This ship would serve as their resident hall and classroom as they set out to complete an academic semester entirely on board a ship while traveling around the world. VIU’s very own School of Business professor Dr. Chandra Ranade was an integral part of the team, serving as an economics professor aboard the ship. “We taught economics, religion, politics, and how each of these aspects help shape a country.  What’s fascinating was the fact that as we were giving lectures about it, our ship was actually traveling to that country. The experience of being able to look at that country not through a map in the confines of a classroom, but to actually be near that country and move around among the region’s people and to mix with the culture was such a dramatic experience,” said Dr. Ranade. Over a span of four months, the ship sailed from Japan, through the dense forest of the Amazon River, around the coast of India and across the gigantic Pacific, to Iceland and then Mauritius, circumnavigating the globe, fulfilling the purpose of building the insight necessary for understanding our increasingly complex and interdependent  world. Most often the students aboard the ship could be found on the decks or staring out cabin windows awestruck, as they often awoke to new countries and new experiences. The ship, which holds up to 836 passengers, is one of the fastest of its kind.  “One morning students woke to find the ship had docked in a small coconut port in the Ivory Coast.  The previous morning the ship was near the sand dunes of Liberia almost 270 miles away!” Dr. Ranade recalled. 

Like the students, Dr. Ranade was also fascinated by the sights.  However, his classroom experiences  with VIU students prepared him for the sights he would see.  While he was teaching classes at VIU the semester prior to his trip, Dr. Ranade learned a lot about different countries and their cultures through the diversified range of nationalities of VIU students. “Weeks before the trip, VIU students kept coming to me with such interesting insights about their own countries. I was amazed and while I and a pack of 600 American students visited those places for ourselves, I could easily identify things I had heard and things they told me that I would see. One of my Burmese students at VIU talked about pagodas. In Burma, and when I was actually there, I was amazed at the details she provided about myriads of pagodas A student body across the globe helped me realize that we now truly live in a universal community.”