Photo courtesy of Sawsan Zahara
Sawsan (Mehdi) Zahara and Karen Zahara
In May 2023, Sawsan (Mehdi) Zahara (Wheelock’87,’94) (third from left) and her daughter, Karen Zahara (CAS’23) (the new grad), of East Taunton, Mass., each submitted class notes in celebration of their family’s long-standing relationship with BU. “When [Karen] was accepted and decided to attend BU, I joked with my children that I ought to paint our driveway scarlet and call it Comm Ave!” writes Sawsan, who matriculated in 1986 as an international student from Lebanon and whose studies were sponsored by the Hariri Foundation, a nongovernmental organization. Sawsan earned a master’s and a doctorate from the BU Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. “I got married and had my first child, William,” she writes. “I had worked on my dissertation while pregnant with him, and had him on my arm when I graduated in 1994 [inset]. I guess William was destined to go to BU.” William (CAS’14) (above right) did just that, double majoring in political science and Latin. His younger brother, Adam (CAS’18) (above left), followed, majoring in chemistry. That left Karen. “Now, I’m joining my mom and siblings in bringing a fifth BU degree to our family of Terriers, making it a family affair,” Karen writes. For Sawsan, just one question remains: “Where can I find that scarlet paint?”
From the Fall 2023 issue.