From Texas Back To Palestine

My name is Tala Karkar (BU ‘06). In three weeks, I will graduate with my master’s degree in public administration (MPA) from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, USA. As I prepare for this important, upcoming event in my life, I face the most difficult task that I know: Packing.

Packing is hard work. It involves lengthy and tedious tasks, and it requires making difficult decisions like determining what to take and what to leave behind.  Somehow, there never seems to be enough time to do everything that needs to be done. But more importantly, packing represents change. In my case, I’m finishing graduate school and returning home.

My dorm room is a sea of papers, files, books and clothes; I cannot see the carpet on the floor. Everything needs to be organized, prepared for shipping, throw out, or given away. This process is complicated by the fact that anything I touch has a memory or story associated with it. As I prepare to leave, I’m flooded with thoughts of the past two years; it is over stimulating and a little overwhelming, too. For instance, there is a large sign in my room that reads, “Welcome To Texas Tala Karkar.”

My host families and sponsors gave me that sign. They used it to help greet me when I arrived in the United States. I first met these people, whom I would grow to know and love as family, when they came to visit Bethlehem University in 2006. They were people from Beaumont, Texas on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and I was the student ambassador who welcomed them to our school. During their stay, they asked me what I wanted to do when I graduated from BU. I told them I wanted to go to the United States and earn my master’s degree. As they left, they told me they would try to help me achieve that goal. Fourteen months later during the fall of 2007, they made good on that promise when I arrived in the United States to start graduate school at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. That sign was one of the first things I saw when I arrived.

Prior to coming and during my stay in the United States, I received strong supports from my father and now deceased mother, my Japanese mother, members of the family including Aunty Stella, Diala, and Uncle, Jack Karkar who gave me a lot of support in reaching my objective. My deceased mother, Aida, was my inspiration and motivation toward perusing an advanced degree. She could always see me as a good leader. Not only she was a wonderful mother but also she was an amazing teacher. I was in the middle of my graduate work when she passed away, that was challenging, but she taught not to give up. All I am now and hope to be I owe it to her.

Before I came to the United States, I knew that my degree—SAT program—and my student ambassador experience would serve me well in graduate school, but I was also aware that they would help me with a greater purpose: presenting and promoting Palestine and Palestinians to Americans. I knew that this task would not be easy. It has been over eight years since the events of 9/11, but many people in America view anything related with the Arab world or the Middle East with distrust and apprehension. I realized this mentality was not due to hate, but rather people being uniformed. I decided to make it my mission that I would always present myself as being an example of the best that Palestine and Palestinians can be. This has not been an easy task, but it is a responsibility that I have welcomed enthusiastically.

It was not long before I realized how big of a challenge I had ahead.  Fortunately, Lamar University represented a great starting point for me. While I was enrolled in school, Lamar underwent a great period of expansion. Multiple capital construction projects were started and completed on the campus, and student enrollment surged to 13,994 registered students during 2009 Fall Semester—its largest ever. But most importantly, the students, faculty, and staff of Lamar all had the unique quality I came to know as “Southeast Texas” friendliness. It was not long before I became acclimated to life on campus. I met students who came from many different places, and I learned from professors who had a variety of different backgrounds. I found Lamar University to be a growing medium-sized university that successfully maintained a small school, community atmosphere.   

My chosen field of study was political science and I worked toward attaining my master’s degree in Public Administration (MPA). The program itself had an intimate feel with only a limited number of students. Our core curriculum consisted of areas like administrative theory, human resource management, public administration, budgeting, and policy formulation. Elective classes offered included environmental policy, administrative law, urban politics and nonprofit management. However, my work in the MPA program was not limited to the classroom. My professors gave me the opportunity to represent Lamar at national conferences, such as the Model Arab League,  the Islamic Conference at Princeton University, and iOme Challenge for changing the United States  retirement policy. I also completed a summer internship with the substance abuse division of a local agency. When I reflect on it, I realize that my experience in graduate school at Lamar was not only challenging but also well-rounded.

Fortunately, I did not limit my exposure to Southeast Texas to Lamar University. I found comfort and support in St. Michael Orthodox Christian Church—the second Orthodox Church in North America—located in Beaumont, Texas. I regularly attended its church services, and I made many great friends from among its followers. The people at St. Michael made me feel welcome and included me as part of their congregation. I will always be grateful to the St. Michael community for fulfilling my spiritual and social needs while I was away from home.

One of the most challenging experiences at Lamar University was completing the Lamar University Physical Training (LUPT) program. LUPT gave me the opportunity to enhance my physical fitness through an intense training regimen. I worked with the other trainees to complete a series of structured exercise programs six days a week for twelve weeks. The LUPT program was based on the McNair Scholar’s program and consists of exercises taken from the United States Marine Corps basic training regimen and the United States Boxing Association. Going through the LUPT program was both physically and mentally demanding, but I learned so much about myself. Most importantly, I gained more confidence in my ability to accomplish anything that I set my mind to.

After a visit to Bethlehem University in May 2006, 11 members of the Diocese of Beaumont, Texas pooled their resources to help Tala pursue her master’s degree. Thank you to Gay and William Scott, Linda and Joseph Domino, Linda and John Duplissey, Carole and Paul Mattingly, Paula and John Lovoi, Janey and Michael Phelan, Chiyoko and Dr. George Hoffman, Dr. Lulu Smith and Dr. Wesley Washburn, Regina Rogers, and Diana and Joseph Mattingly. Tala hopes to teach and train others in Public Administration at Bethlehem University.