Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.
I was born and raised in Palestine and moved to the states in 1999 with my former husband. I moved to Greendale in 2000 and had two daughters who graduated from GHS and one son who is currently a freshman.

Q: Please tell us about your current career. What do you love most about what you do?
I am currently a Special Education teacher at Greendale Middle School. After working as a paraprofessional for 6 years I then obtained my Master’s of Art in Teaching. What I love most about what I do is making a difference in my students’ lives. To know that I contributed to their journey to success brings me great joy.

Q: Please tell us about any volunteering that you have done or currently do.
One of my favorite things to do is to give back to my community. I do this in a few different ways: I volunteer at my local food pantry, I support immigrant and refugee families by providing them resources and interpreting when needed, and I organize clothing and home good drives to distribute to families in need.

Q: Please tell us about any interesting or unique hobbies that you have?
I love to sew, in fact, back when I had more free time I would sew custom curtains, clothing and many other items. I also love to go on nature walks or bike rides especially when the weather is nice.

Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in Greendale? What do you love there?
I have always taken my kids to Ricardo’s Pizza in the village and our favorite is the margherita pizza. We also love Joey Gerard’s especially since my oldest daughter used to work there in High School.

Q: How long have you lived or worked in Greendale?
I have lived in Greendale for 22 years and this is my 8th year working in the Greendale School District.

Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in Greendale?
It is really hard to choose just one person that I have met, there are so many incredible stories that I have heard from people in the Greendale community. Whether that be the staff that I get to work with everyday, the district administration or my students’ families.

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be and why?
The obvious answer for me is always: Palestine. My family is mostly all still living overseas and each year the family grows. Every chance I get, I love to visit my homeland, my mother and all my family.

Q: What advice would you give to people?
I have two pieces of advice. The first piece of advice is to overcome the hardships in your life by using the boulders that are the obstacles to build a bridge that helps you to reach your goals rather than stops you from achieving them. The second piece of advice is to never stop giving, the smile that you put on someone’s face is priceless. And always expect nothing in return, give for the sake of giving.

Q: What is something on your bucket list?
My current two top bucket list items are to travel to Oslo to visit my brother and Australia to visit my niece.

Q: What is your go to band when you can’t decide what to listen to?
I do not have a particular band that I listen to but I love all Arabic music especially Kathem Alsaher

Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about Greendale?
Ferch’s is definitely the former local business that makes me the most nostalgic about Greendale. I remember taking my kids and some of my students to get ice cream throughout the years.

Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about Greendale?
The village is a unique part of Greendale along with the welcoming and diverse community.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
I still see myself in Greendale in the same school and position because I love it! I see myself doing more travel around the world and doing more charity work.

Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
I came from a big family, I am actually #10 of 11 siblings. My family is so big that my niece is only one year younger than me.

Q: What is the most beautiful place you have ever been?
Jerusalem is the most beautiful place I have visited.

Q: Favorite month? favorite holiday? and best single day on the calendar?
I do not have a favorite month or day but my favorite holiday is Eid Al-Fitr because we celebrate after fasting the month of Ramadan.

Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?
I would rate the smell of my coffee in the morning a 10/10, nothing beats it.

Q: Who inspires you to be better?
My mom is my inspiration, she went back to school after she had 11 kids, her message to us was to never give up on your dreams.

Q: What is one or two of your favorite smells?
My coffee and the smell after the rain

Q: Finally, what 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Family, love, Palestine