“
I will forever be grateful
”
Graduate remembers Birzeit University
after 30 years of living in diaspora
I
t was 1983 when Khader Hasan, now 53 years old, first
enrolled in Birzeit University. Twenty-eight years later, he
has returned as a visitor, remembering what he says were
the best days of his life.
Hasan was surrounded with his old classmates, who
were all nostalgic as they recalled “the good old times” at
the university. It was clear that there was an unbreakable
bond between them and with the university. Hasan talked
about his old teachers and friends and the places where
they all wandered.
After he finished his bachelor degree in physics at
Birzeit University in 1990, Hasan left for the United States,
where he completed his graduate studies. It took him
seven years to complete his undergraduate degree. The
university saw the longest closure in its history after the
outbreak of the first intifada in 1987. As a result, Hasan
could not attend his graduation ceremony, which took
place in 1992 while he was in the United States.
Despite becoming a renowned professor, his path was
not easy, especially because he suffered as a Palestinian
refugee. “The first time I went outside the bounds of
the refugee camp was to Birzeit University. My mother
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Al Ghadeer - Fall 2018
encouraged me to do it. We heard from our neighbors
about Birzeit, and in my head the university reflected hope
and sweet escape from the camp,” Hassan said.
At first, Hasan enrolled in the faculty of engineering.
However, his family’s economic conditions put him at
a crossroads: “I had to find a scholarship to continue
my studying or else I would have to withdraw from the
university.” Luckily, the Musa Nasir Scholarship for Physics
came to his rescue.
Afterwards, a scholarship from Brigham Young
University in Utah, allowed him to pursue his passion and
recieve his master’s degree in Physics before going on to
complete a PhD in Medical Physics from the University of
Utah. “I did not find many academic challenges during
the time I was studying in the United States. Most of the
curricula they taught us, especially on the master’s level,
had been taught to us at Birzeit University.”
Today he is a full professor in medical physics and
magnetic resonance imaging, and he asserts that “Birzeit
University was the main reason for all the successes that I
have achieved up until now. It was my second home, where
I learned what freedom and democracy really means.”
PLACEMAKING
AT BIRZEIT
A Modern Campus… An Ageless Spirit
Birzeit University
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