Wayne Magazine Holiday 2020 | Page 20

inspiration

SHARING THEIR STORIES Brady Hishmeh listens to other teens talk about their experiences with cleft palates and lips during his keynote address at the Operation Smile International Student Leadership Conference ( ISLC ) in Rome .

KATHY MAGEE

CO-FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT OF OPERATION SMILE

to go on a2015 10-day mission to Ethiopia to share information about nutrition and personal care with young people there .

“ The first two days in Addis Ababa were screening days , when we accepted more than 100 community members into the mission site and conducted checkups to make sure they weren ’ t malnourished or ill and could have the surgery ,” says Hishmeh . For some , he says , the thorough medical exams were the first in their lives .

“ It was amazing how courageous and amazing those kids were ,” he says . “ A lot hadn ’ t had very good lives . They were ostracized by their communities . One child was abandoned by his family , and his older brother had to take care of him . They misunderstand what causes ( cleft palates and lips ).”

Since his volunteer work in Ethiopia , Hishmeh has returned every summer to help run Operation Smile ’ s student leadership conference . A highpoint came at the 2017 gathering in Rome , when he was

selected to be a keynote speaker before 700 international students . Hishmeh invited his fellow participants to join him on stage as a Q & A panel .“ I reduced my comments to ‘ This sucks , and I had surgeries ,” he says . “ The raw emotion in that room ... There wasn ’ t a dry eye in the audience .”

Hishmeh wasn ’ t done with those surgeries . He had four more his senior year of high school . “ They pulled my upper jaw forward , fixed my nose with cartilage from my ribs , and supplied my upper lip with more tissue ,” he says . His lips were sewn together at the middle , and for half a year he was on aliquid diet .“ Iwent to college orientation high on pain meds ,” he says with a laugh .

As a college student , Hishmeh helped set up Operation Smile ’ s Step Up conference , a gathering of undergraduate volunteers ( COVID-19 has postponed international missions for the time being ). “ We are so proud of Brady ,” says Kathy Magee , co-founder and president of Operation Smile . “ While he has been faced with many challenges , he has been resilient and confident as he teaches the world about living with a cleft condition . Brady has used this gift and turned life into abundant positive opportunities .”

Hishmeh and Magee have another experience in common : Their images can currently be seen on Lay ’ s potato chips bags as part of the company ’ s 2020 Smilers campaign ; each purchase of the specially marked bags supports the brand ’ s donation of up to $ 1 million to Operation Smile . The initiative features 30 “ smilers ” whose inspirational efforts benefit others . Among them , “ One takes out the trash and mows lawns for the elderly , another makes birthday cakes for underprivileged families ,” says Hishmeh .

The honorees took photos of themselves , he says , which were edited for positioning on the bags . Hishmeh ’ s image graces the potato chip company ’ s lightly salted and hot sauce varieties .

Hishmeh is currently earning his last college credits as an intern for Operation Smile . He says he changed his mind about the career he wants to enter midway through college . “ I entered as a nursing student because I wanted to help people ,” he says . That goal hasn ’ t changed , but his approach has : Next year , he says , he will enter law school . ■

PHOTO COURTESY OFOPERATION SMILE

18 HOLIDAY 2020 WAYNE MAGAZINE