\n
By Sam Bahour<\/strong><\/p>\n At the outset, I extend my respect and thanks to the teaching Also, congratulations to all the parents of our graduates, Of course, my sincere congratulations to each and every one Many may believe that today marks the key milestone in your life\u2019s Your life is like a train and it has already left the Your train will shift tracks much more often after you leave As you come to the end of the track of your secondary You will need to choose a discipline to guide your career. I To date, you have been spoon-fed knowledge, at times, more As your train enters onto the tracks of employment or family More important than your train\u2019s inevitable movement is who Allow me to stretch the train analogy one step further. For Wheel #1 is your family<\/strong> \u2013 Today you are in the Wheel #2 is your community<\/strong> \u2013 The best of families do Wheel #3 is your health<\/strong> \u2013 Without health all else Wheel #4 is your set of values<\/strong> \u2013 You, and only you, Finally, never, never, never allow your train to derail. Oil Again, I salute each of you and thank you for giving me the Mabrouk.<\/p>\n This was given as the keynote speech at the American NOTE: Arabic translation published at:\u00a0 http:\/\/www.alhayat-j.com\/newsite\/details.php?opt=1&id=176140&cid=2623<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Sam Bahour At the outset, I extend my respect and thanks to the teaching staff and administration staff of Palestine\u2019s school system. Teachers and their support staff are the wheels and gears that produce a society\u2019s human capacity to face today\u2019s challenges. We should hold our educators in much higher regard than we hold […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[942],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[936],"class_list":["post-4128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sams-writings"],"authors":[{"term_id":936,"user_id":4,"is_guest":0,"slug":"sambahour","display_name":"Sam Bahour","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/bca109c333bf6d8ae807746dd512adde46265d37c923f6cd0fc4aab437f8e9aa?s=96&d=mm&r=g","author_category":"1","first_name":"Sam","last_name":"Bahour","user_url":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour","job_title":"","description":" Sam Bahour<\/strong> is a Palestinian-American business consultant, writer, and commentator based in Al-Bireh\/Ramallah, Palestine. He is the principal of Applied Information Management (AIM)<\/a>, a consultancy specializing in business development and startup advisory services.<\/p>\r\n Bahour played a foundational role in establishing two of Palestine\u2019s publicly traded companies: the Palestine Telecommunications Company (PALTEL) and the Arab Palestinian Shopping Centers (APSC). He co-founded Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy (A4VPE), of which he is now an emeritus member, and served as an independent director on the board of Arab Islamic Bank P.L.C. from 2004 to 2025. He currently serves on the board of Just Vision<\/a> and The Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute (MAS)<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n He frequently gives talks to delegations visiting Palestine on the subjects of Palestine\u2019s political economy, Palestinian Politics 101, and a general orientation to the state of affairs under Israeli military occupation.<\/p>\r\n A prolific writer on Palestinian affairs, Bahour has been published in major international outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian, Haaretz, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, Al Jazeera America, Le Monde diplomatique, Al-Monitor, +972 Magazine, The Hill, and Arab News. He has appeared as a commentator on NPR, CNN, BBC, and other broadcast media.<\/p>\r\n Bahour is the co-editor of Homeland: Oral Histories of Palestine and Palestinians<\/a><\/em> (Olive Branch Press, 1993) and was profiled in the bestselling anthology Kingdom of Olives and Ash<\/a><\/em>, edited by Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman, in a chapter authored by Chabon titled \u201cThe Tallest Man in Ramallah<\/a>.\u201d He holds an Associate\u2019s and Bachelor\u2019s degree in Computer Technology from Youngstown State University, and a Kellogg-Recanati International Executive MBA \u2014 a joint program of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Recanati Business School at Tel Aviv University.<\/p>\r\n He tweets at @SamBahour<\/a>, blogs at www.epalestine.ps<\/a>, and may be reached at sbahour[AT]gmail[DOT]com.<\/p>"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4128"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4128\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9621,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4128\/revisions\/9621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4128"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/epalestine.ps\/sambahour\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=4128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nstaff and administration staff of Palestine\u2019s
\nschool system. Teachers and their support staff are the wheels and gears that
\nproduce a society\u2019s human capacity to face today\u2019s challenges. We should hold our
\neducators in much higher regard than we hold up the superficial role models
\nbeing force fed to us by today\u2019s mass media.<\/p>\n
\nespecially the mothers who are our society\u2019s unsung heroines.<\/p>\n
\nof our Class of 2012 graduates. You are the reason this message was written.
\nEach of you is a shining star. As you pick-up your diploma you are formally
\nentering a new threshold of life.<\/p>\n
\njourney. They are wrong. There is no one key milestone; today merely marks one
\nimportant day of many.<\/p>\n
\nstation long ago. This train does not stop for anything, it simply changes
\ntracks.<\/p>\n
\nthis hall. With each shift of tracks your focus will readjust.<\/p>\n
\neducation and enter onto the track of higher education or vocational training you
\nmay feel a bump, but the train does not stop.<\/p>\n
\nknow that this is a hard choice, especially since our education system does not
\ngive you the full ability to make your own choice, but do not worry. Education
\nis not locked up behind the walls of your university. Formal education teaches
\nyou how<\/u> to learn, but learning<\/u> is an action you can do wherever
\nyou are. The world is literally at your fingertips; never let anyone limit your
\nability to learn to a classroom.<\/p>\n
\nwillingly than others. From this day onward it is totally your choice if you decide
\nto continue to acquire knowledge or not. Regardless, your train will keep
\nmoving.<\/p>\n
\nlife you will feel more bumps. These are the real bumps, like the speed bumps and
\npotholes in our streets; they come with little warning and no signs. If you are
\nprepared, these bumps will be manageable. Prepared or not, one thing is for
\nsure, your train will keep on moving.<\/p>\n
\nand what you will take for the ride.<\/p>\n
\ntrains to stay on the tracks they have four wheels, each made of steel.<\/p>\n
\nlimelight. Today is your day, but you would not have reached this point if it
\nwere not for the love and care of your family. Someone registered you to attend
\nschool, someone paid for your education, someone made you sandwiches for lunch
\nevery day, someone did your laundry, someone made sure you did your homework,
\nand that someone made sure you look your best today. Give back to your family;
\nyou owe them more than you will ever be able to pay back.<\/p>\n
\nnot exist in a vacuum. An old African proverb says: it takes a village to
\nraise a child<\/em>. The second you entered this world the community around you molded
\nyour character. You can chose to be on the receiving end of your community\u2019s
\ninfluence, or, you can choose to be one of the active community members that
\ndefine the community you live in. As Palestinians, community is key; it is what
\nhas held us together until today. Our sense of community has allowed us to
\nuphold our just struggle for freedom. Without community we become dull human
\nbeings, rolling along in our empty train.<\/p>\n
\nmeans very little. Health comes in many packages, first is your physical
\nhealth. Stay fit, move, and be active. For those of you who think spending
\nhours-on-end at the coffee shop smoking an arghela<\/em> is cool, call me one
\nday and I\u2019ll walk with you through the cemetery to show you where all the other
\ncool smokers are resting. In addition to your physical health is your mental and
\nspiritual health. Keep your mind and heart stimulated. Don\u2019t become numb smart
\nphone dummies or satellite TV couch potatoes. Instead, read, interact on the
\nhuman level, not only in chat rooms, and then, read some more. If you are not
\nreading a new book every month, your train is being passed up.<\/p>\n
\nwill decide what your set of values will be. Remember, if you don\u2019t stand for
\nsomething, you will fall for anything. As you enter this new stage of your
\nlife, define what you stand for. Don\u2019t accept mediocre, mashy al hal<\/em>,
\nwhen you know you can do better, does not create excellence, ma\u2019alaesh,<\/em>
\nwhen you see something that is wrong, does not promote continued improvement, Inshallah<\/em>,
\nwhen you have no intention to act, is better not said. Set your values high,
\nmake them known, and continuously adjust them as you learn more of the
\nchallenges of living in the 21st<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n
\neach and every wheel, each and every day.<\/p>\n
\nchance to participate with you on this joyous day.<\/p>\n
\nSchool of Palestine 2012 Graduation Ceremony, May 26, 2012, Best Eastern Hotel<\/em><\/p>\n