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Alumni Reflections
By
Madiha Shahabuddin,
Class of 2004
(from
a speech given at a benefit dinner on April 15, 2006)
It’s commonly said
that your years in high school are the best years of your life. Although
I’m only half-way through high school, that’s still pretty far, and I
can confidently say they aren’t. My middle school years were the best
years of my life, and I’m almost certain they will be for the rest of my
life. I wouldn’t be able to state this in such confidence, however, if I
hadn’t attended New Horizon School.
It’s the people; it’s
the life lessons; it’s the challenging work load I grumbled about
everyday, not knowing just how much it would prepare me for high school.
It’s the feeling of not just being at school, but being around a family
willing to support you.
I don’t know of many
schools in which their students refer to their schools as a second home,
because that was what New Horizon was to me and many of my classmates.
This closeness stems from our common Islamic beliefs and morals. The
students, faculty, and teachers brought these morals to life. I truly
felt like my friends were my sisters, and still, years later, I do now.
Students and teachers were so close; the boys in our class would go
paint-balling with our English and History teacher, Mr. Khan, on the
weekend. The teachers taught us the kind of life lessons you can’t learn
from the books, those we as second generation Muslims in America could
not grasp from other sources. They had experienced growing up here and
could relate to our struggles over adapting to and living in this
society while still adhering to our Islamic principles. And they showed
us it was possible. Our teachers weren’t just our role models, but our
friends who concerned themselves with our problems or struggles if ever
we had any.
The most beautiful
aspect of New Horizon was and is its diversity. My class alone consisted
of Muslims from Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia,
Afghanistan, and Pakistan, along with a few non-Muslims as well. Here
was the essence of Islamic unity amongst vast diversity. There were no
such things as cultural clicks where people of the same ethnicity stuck
with themselves only. In my class, a Pakistani boy was best friends with
a Palestinian boy, while an Egyptian boy was best friends with a
Malaysian boy. Our cultural differences weren’t walls, but bridges,
linking our experiences, struggles, and victories.
Don’t think just
because it’s an Islamic school, New Horizon lacks academic excellence.
Because it’s the exact opposite. In fact, I think because New
Horizon is an Islamic school, it values high standards of education, in
perfect line with the Islamic emphasis on gaining knowledge. Let me tell
you, it was challenging. From science fair projects and animal
dissection, to book reports and essays, we learned everything. In
reality, when I began high school, my honors classes were easy for me,
unlike the others in my classes who found it quite difficult. From New
Horizon, I was automatically entered into honors classes for my freshman
year. Now, in my sophomore year, I’m in Advanced Placement (AP) classes,
as many of my fellow New Horizon classmates are, and in honors. I’m on
the yearbook staff, newspaper staff, and treasurer for our high school’s
MSA.
As you can see, New
Horizon enables a student to achieve great potential. It transforms
Muslim children into aware, active, prepared Muslim youth. Many Muslim
adults worry over the question of our fate in America. We search for the
answer to the question: How will we teach our children, our future
Muslim Ummah? Well, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, you’re
sitting in it. The answer lies in productive, challenging schools such
as New Horizon, bringing about monumental change in the future of our
Muslim youth. |
