Sabren Wahdan

Major

Political Science major/Communication and Philosophy minors

Bio

As a very promising Saint who’s about to graduate, we wanted to share a little more information about Sabren and her unique journey at and coming to Marymount. Below is our interview with her:

What are you studying? Where did you do your internship? What are your plans after school?

I am majoring in Political Science with a Minor in Communications and Minor In Philosophy.

I completed my internship at The Law Offices of Sean O’Connell, the internship has been an exceptionally rewarding experience. It has provided me with a unique opportunity to examine various aspects of the law as well as gain exposure and familiarity with a wide array of legal issues and practices germane to the federal judiciary. 

Having witnessed and contributed to the inner workings of a law office and having put my own earnest effort into clients’ success, the practice of law carries a deep personal significance now. My internship experiences have instilled within me a passion for the law and a healthy respect for its pervasive influence on the people it governs. The woman whose I-360 VAWA self-petition I assembled on my first day received a prima facie determination in her favor. Since then, my own writing has been submitted for numerous admirable causes: keeping a father together with his son, and ensuring a young woman would be able to continue her promising US medical education, to name two. I find my work at The Law Offices of Sean O’Connell uniquely compelling and gratifying as helping immigrants achieve and sustain a better life reminds me of the goals my father and mother had for my family when they immigrated to the United States. This internship was a great opportunity for me to realize that law was indeed my calling. I have applied to law school and intend on starting my journey to become an attorney this fall.

We understand that you have four siblings who all attended Marymount! What drew you and all of your siblings to Marymount? What are your siblings’ post-graduate plans, schools, or careers?

It is quite a family affair! My siblings and I all followed in the footsteps of our eldest sibling Yesmean. She was accepted into Marymount in 2000 and majored in Cellular and Molecular Biology. Yesmean graduated from Marymount and went on to Medical School at Georgetown University School of Medicine. She completed her residency at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and is now an OB/GYN working as a Medical Director for a women’s healthcare company. 

My brother Mohammad came to Marymount next. He majored in Biology as well. He then stayed at Marymount and completed a professional degree. He is now a Doctor of Physical Therapy and practices at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital and at a Private Physical Therapy Clinic. Mohammad’s wife Jenine attended Marymount as well, majoring and then continuing on to a Master’s in Business Administration. After completing her internship at Booz Allen Hamilton, she was offered a full time position and has since reminded there. 

My brother Hisham attended Marymount and majored in Math before he transferred to University of the District of Columbia to complete his studies. Hisham is a Civil Engineer and now works as a Project Manager for Arlington County. Hisham’s wife, Jihan, attended Marymount as well, majoring in Health Information Systems. 

My brother Hane attended Marymount and majored in Cybersecurity. He completed his studies and worked for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and has now transitioned into a private sector cybersecurity job. 

What has been the best part about your Marymount experience?

Marymount has provided me with a rich education that is unmatched. I feel blessed to have experienced this while living in the nation’s melting pot. Marymount’s culture is an ode to this melting pot—we are a fantastic force full of amazingly talented students, professors and administrators from all walks of life, all backgrounds, all nationalities, and all faiths coming together. We strive together to leave here better than as we came and to pour our passions into contributing to society. 

We understand that your parents came from Palestine, so you are first-generation American. What does that mean to you and your family that you have come to America, attended Marymount, and many of your siblings have gone to school or work in prominent fields?

As a young child, my father and his parents fled the Six Day war in Palestine and sought refuge in Jordan, where they lived for a short time before immigrating to the United States. Once in the United States, my father  and his parents lived in a one-bedroom apartment on Glebe Rd. in Arlington, VA and there they built their lives anew. My mother immigrated to the United States from Palestine when she was 18. My parents  faced the challenges that many immigrants face. 

I am more fortunate than most to have learned and experienced the values of hard work, the fruits of perseverance and the faith in oneself required to endure and succeed. My parents  provided me with a lifetime supply of knowledge and wisdom – nutrition of a very different sort. My parents  have remained very clear about one thing….. education is key and education opens door for success and for giving back to society. To this day my parents push for myself and my siblings to continually educate ourselves and be the best we can be for ourselves, our families, and our community. They understand full well the blessing it is to have the opportunities to define your own destiny and build your own life by educating yourself and then using what you have learned to help your community. 

My goal in life is to be an attorney that uses basic human values as the bedrock of my life, work, and aide to others. In doing so I will be a part of my parents  legacy and honor them by using the values they taught to empower me throughout my entire life, a passion that fuels me now more than ever.

How do you think a Marymount education instills its students with the values of intellectual curiosity, a global perspective, and service to others?

Marymount is ideally located in the nation’s melting pot. Marymount offers a haven for individuals from all over the world with all kinds of backgrounds and all kinds of experience to come together to teach and learn from one another. It is the very experience that opens our hearts and minds to this sense of being part of something much bigger and thus the drive to succeed and in turn contribute back.