{"id":15193,"date":"2023-05-08T16:42:17","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T23:42:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=15193"},"modified":"2023-05-09T11:40:43","modified_gmt":"2023-05-09T18:40:43","slug":"student-founded-group-for-mena-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/student-founded-group-for-mena-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Graduating sociology major founded USC\u2019s first group for students of Middle Eastern\/North African descent"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                                    \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/05\/khoory_commencement_profile_newsite-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/05\/khoory_commencement_profile_newsite-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/05\/khoory_commencement_profile_newsite-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2023\/05\/khoory_commencement_profile_newsite-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  role=\"none\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Anthony Khoory will receive his bachelor\u2019s degree during commencement on May 12. (Photo: Jana Zatar.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=commencement\">Commencement<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Graduating sociology major founded USC\u2019s first group for students of Middle Eastern\/North African descent<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  USC Dornsife senior Anthony Khoory is fascinated by the many elements \u2014 cultural, linguistic and otherwise \u2014 that make people \u201cthe same, but different.\u201d\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Meredith McGroarty<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">May 8, 2023<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>As he grew up, tabbouleh, <a href=\"https:\/\/folkdancefootnotes.org\/dance\/a-real-folk-dance-what-is-it\/about\/dabke-debke-lebanon-palestine-syria-jordan\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>dabke<\/em><\/a> and sprinkles of family conversations in Arabic set Anthony Khoory slightly apart from many of his peers in predominantly white Watertown, Massachusetts. But with a mom who frets over whether he is eating well at college and a father who teaches him how to behave on a date \u2014 well, sometimes people of varied backgrounds are not so different after all.<\/p>\n<p>The blending of various influences in his life is something Khoory reflects on quite a bit, having a foot in several worlds.<\/p>\n<p>His mother is originally from Syria, his father is from Iraq and his paternal grandmother is Lebanese, so the foods, folk tales and music of the Middle East permeated his childhood.<\/p>\n<p>But aside from a trip to Syria as a child, Khoory grew up in Massachusetts and spoke English, attended the local schools and engaged in the same day-to-day activities as his friends.<\/p>\n<p>And being non-Arab Christians, his family was part of what Khoory describes as a very present but sometimes overlooked Middle Eastern group.<\/p>\n<p>Now, as he graduates with a bachelor\u2019s degree in <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/soci\/\">sociology<\/a> from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, Khoory reflects on how his distinctive upbringing combined to shape his time at USC and his future aspirations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt wasn\u2019t always apparent how much my background mattered to me until I saw it for what it was and appreciated it. I realized it in high school, and that led to me deciding to study sociology in college,\u201d Khoory says. \u201cI want to combine my interest in social issues, like racism and poverty, with my love of different cultures and my passion for my cultural nuances.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Studying the interplay of cultures defined Khoory\u2019s time at the university, in his coursework and outside the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>A few years ago he <a href=\"https:\/\/news.usc.edu\/206628\/usc-arab-american-heritage-month-menasa\/\" target=\"_blank\">formed a club<\/a> for Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) students at USC, and last fall he and USC Dornsife sophomore Nour Myra Geha <a href=\"https:\/\/news.usc.edu\/206628\/usc-arab-american-heritage-month-menasa\/\" target=\"_blank\">established<\/a> the <a href=\"https:\/\/engage.usc.edu\/menasa\/home\/\" target=\"_blank\">Middle Eastern North African Student Assembly<\/a>(MENASA), a part of the Undergraduate Student Government that includes funding, a dedicated staff member and other resources.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI came to USC and noticed that many other cultural or racial or ethnic groups had a center, and we didn\u2019t,\u201d he says. \u201cWe wanted to validate and encourage the Middle Eastern and North African identities of students from these backgrounds because it has often been invisible. But we are here, and being publicly proud of who we are is OK.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Individually connected<\/h2>\n<p>Khoory\u2019s journey to better understand his roots started with his efforts to learn Arabic, a language he grew up understanding (his mother spoke a Syrian dialect at home) but one in which he was not fluent. He credits his courses at USC \u2014 and many later conversations with his mother \u2014 with giving him the skills to understand it more fully, particularly the modern standard Arabic that is used in news broadcasts and religious texts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has just opened me up to a beautiful world. The more languages you know, the more people you can connect with and the more sides of yourself you start to discover,\u201d Khoory says. He even noticed subtle changes in how his mother or other native Arabic speakers might open up slightly more when speaking Arabic, whether to confide or laugh or simply share.<\/p>\n<p>Although not all of the members of MENA and MENASA spoke a language from the region, there were other shared elements that gave people in the groups an important sense of community, Khoory notes. Events featuring foods from the regions sparked recollections of childhoods that had many common threads.<\/p>\n<p>Understanding the ties of the community was essential to his time at USC, his studies and self-discovery, he says.<\/p>\n<p>Khoory hopes to take some time off after graduation to consider his career path. After working several jobs during the school year and leading MENA and MENASA, he feels a pause is necessary to fully chart a course.<\/p>\n<p>He and his family are going to Lebanon soon, to stay at his grandmother\u2019s house.<\/p>\n<p>He also wants to shadow an attorney involved with human rights and to volunteer with a mental health hotline to deepen his understanding of where the needs of various communities lie.<\/p>\n<p>But his real passion lies with understanding the nuances of what separates \u2014 and binds \u2014us all. He cites a recent popular MENA event where students learned about the <em>dabke,<\/em> a Middle Eastern dance in which a line or circle of people stamp their feet to a background beat.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI read the dance began in the villages, people stamping on clay or soil to make it compact, then they combined it with the local drums and rhythms, and it\u2019s something that people do together but can add their own twists,\u201d he said. \u201cIt shows that we are diverse, but we are one, and I love that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Related News\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div 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href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/opportunities-for-north-korean-refugees\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Graduating human biology major creates opportunities for North Korean refugees<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>USC Dornsife senior Anthony Khoory is fascinated by the many elements \u2014 cultural, linguistic and otherwise \u2014 that make people \u201cthe same, but different.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":15194,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,24,17],"tags":[56,90,97],"class_list":["post-15193","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commencement","category-social-impact","category-student","tag-class-of-2023","tag-sociology","tag-undergraduate"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Graduating sociology major founded USC\u2019s first group for students of Middle Eastern\/North African descent<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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