by Bethel Tafere
Ms. Dina Shalash, whose father (an Egyptian) worked as a journalist for the BBC, was born in England and lived in Houndslow until the age of twelve. Later, she and her family moved to Iowa (where her mother’s side of the family lived). There she went to high school which, Ms. Shalash says, was a typical American high school, with cliques and teachers who weren’t as dedicated to their jobs as those at KAS. However, it was in high school that she took a life-changing AP European History class with an exceptional teacher and syllabus, and met her future husband.
Although she had wanted to be a writer like her father when she’d been younger, Ms. Shalash was not as focused in high school. However, she went to college, keeping in contact with the man who would become her husband. As she continued her studies, including a few summers as a camp counselor, she realized she wanted to be a teacher and work with children.
Ms. Shalash went on to teach in a public school in Chicago where most of the children, though they had problems at home, were focused on their schoolwork. Later, she taught at a school in Egypt, teaching third grade at a school where the students were mostly from wealthy families and there was more of a focus on grades and results than how much the students really absorbed. In contrast to this, Ms. Shalash says that what she loves about KAS is that “teachers and students can really collaborate” on things and teachers are more able to help students.
Ms. Shalash’s favorite place to go is Cairo as her father’s side of the family is there, but her dream vacation would be somewhere along the Indian Ocean on a beach. An unusual vacation experience for Ms. Shalash was when she went on a road trip with her future husband and ran out of money eight hours from home, but worked together and made it back safely. Although she has lived in many countries, Ms. Shalash says that she loves Sudan because she is closer to her husband’s family here, and it is calm and peaceful.
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