By Maggie Biunno
Many students from around the country attend the University in hopes of pursuing a career in the field of communications. These students commit themselves with hopes of someday obtaining a position with the company of their dreams, whether it is for a newspaper or for television. Due to the high competition in this field, not all the students who pass through Dempster Hall will succeed in meeting their goal. The students who are willing to reach the furthest will be one step closer to achieving all of their desires. These are the individuals with a success story waiting to be told. Rana Sweis, an alumna of the University has left the campus on Long Island with her education and a major in Print Journalism and has already received substantial recognition for her outstanding achievements.
Rana Sweis came to the United States from her home in Amman, Jordan in 1998 to attend the University as an undergraduate student. She had applied to ten different universities all around the country, even as far as California.
“My brothers were studying in upstate New York,” Sweis said. “I visited them, but did not want to go to school there because it was deserted.”
Sweis searched for the ideal college to attend, visiting several of the schools she applied to over the spring break of her senior year in high school. After being accepted to eight of her ten schools, she still had a difficult decision to make. Sweis settled on the University after a tour to Dempster Hall.
“As a senior, I wrote for my high school newspaper,” Sweis said. “I found out I really like talking to people and finding out what is going on, so I knew I wanted Communications.”
She was extremely impressed with the organizations run by the students, such as the University radio station and the Chronicle newspaper. Sweis entered the University as an undecided Communications major.
In September of 1998, Sweis began her studies at the University. She was shortly enrolled in a Journalism 1 class taught by Professor Steven Knowlton. From the beginning, Knowlton was impressed with Sweis.
“She was delightful,” Knowlton said. “She is very serious, very bright, and very articulate. She clearly has things to say and brings perspective to a lot of questions.”
The program was completely beneficial to Sweis. After Knowlton’s class she selected Print Journalism as her major.
“I knew, that’s it, I wanted Print Journalism,” Sweis said. “And then I never looked back.”
During her stay at the University, Sweis spent time writing for publications such as the campus and Pulse magazine on campus. She received the opportunity for an internship with Fairchild Publications, located in New York City, which controls approximately 12 magazines. Sweis spent her time with the company working for a fashion magazine.
“I didn’t learn a lot about reporting,” Sweis said. “I learned about editors, the chaos of a photo shoot, press releases, and a good work environment.”
The summer after her freshman year, Sweis worked at the Jordan Times. Sweis became certain her major was a correct decision after she spent more time writing and developing into a journalist.
“This added to the notion of what I wanted to do,” Sweis said.
When the chance came around, Sweis decided to take a trip to Washington D.C. with the Political Science department. This five-day trip allows the students to visit many places around the city, as well as meet with University alumnus that now work there in politics.
“I liked it so much that I went twice,” Sweis said.
This is when Sweis first met Professor Roseanna Perotti from the political science department. “She was on both trips and we got to know each other, especially on the bus ride down to Washington D.C. Rana is a charming person and you’ll like her right away,” Perotti said. “She has the ability to ask questions in such an open and non-threatening way, allowing people to trust her. She is a very optimistic person and positive to be around.”
As usual, the four years of college were soon complete and Sweis was ready to enter the working world, equipped with her excellent experience and intriguing style of writing. After she graduated in May of 2002, she returned to her home in Jordan. The situation with economics was becoming worse and it was difficult to find a job. She spent the summer traveling and returned in the fall to find a job. Sweis started with a position doing research and translation in November. She stayed with this position until the beginning of February 2003, where she received the opportunity to work at the Star Newspaper, a local paper in Amman, written in English. Sweis started this part of her career just one month before the war in Iraq and continued working there for two years. During this time, Sweis became one of a group of people helping train the Iraqi people the ethics and practices of the freedom of journalism, a luxury that they had never been allowed.
“The situation was intense,” Sweis said. “I helped them with translation, story ideas, and we covered demonstrations together.”
She was able to be a leader, teaching the people of Iraq how to write, something that Americans take for granted.
“The most rewarding experience working with the refugees was learning about different aspects of society. There were women in villages struggling while their husbands could not work,” Sweis said. “It has been the best thing I’ve ever encountered. The reward for me is that someone will listen and read what I have to say.”
Sweis has not stopped striving for success. Presently, she is studying Political Management at George Washington University for her graduate degree.
“Washington D.C. is really different than New York,” Sweis said. “People are very conscious of what they do and always have to dress right because they walk around thinking that in 10 years they might be a senator.”
The change of atmosphere has not kept Sweis from getting another excellent position. She works for the National Public Radio station that broadcasts from Washington D.C., which is a coincidence because her minor from the University is music.
“I was going to do English, but by my junior year, I had already almost completed enough class for a minor in music, so I decided to go with that,” Sweis said. “And I think it comes in handy now with the stuff I’m doing at NPR.”
Sweis has been working towards the many achievements she can be recognized for through out her life. She did not, however, reach these goals without having struggles along the way. Although Sweis received excellent opportunities throughout her time at the University, she had to deal with living in America through the time of Sep. 11.
“Whether you like it or not, when you live in another place you become in between and must look at things from the outside,” Sweis stated. “It was hard to see the death of 34 Iraqis on the tenth page of the newspaper when there was the death of five Americans on the front. There is a gap and a misunderstanding and it is becoming wider.”
Sweis met Professor Carol Fletcher while enrolled in her Feature Writing class. She recalled Sweis’ brave editorials for the Chronicle and Pulse, speaking about her experiences. “She believes that communication is the bridge for the divide between the United States and the Middle East,” Fletcher stated. “She is really devoting herself. She is a woman who has and will make a difference. She uses the power of communication to shed light and bridge cultural divide. She is everything a journalist should be.”
Perotti explained how Sweis’ background has helped her to succeed. She tries to help people understand about the region of the world that she lives in and comes from. Her beliefs were similar to those of Professor Fletcher.
“I think she’s been able to bridge misunderstanding and she sees herself in that role as someone who can explain the Middle East, or her society, and help explain western values as well,” Perotti commented. “There are people that blow up bridges and people that build bridges and Rana is a person who is constantly building bridges. She is so positive and focused to help people understand each other.”
Sweis acknowledged her attempts to connect the Middle East with the United States. “Being in both places builds credibility,” she said. “If you can get to the general population, you’ve achieved a lot.”
Recently, Sweis met with Jim Pinkerton of Newsday at the University to hold several discussions in some of Professor Perotti’s classes. Sweis met Pinkerton when she found out he would be visiting the areas near her home in Jordan. During the time in the class, Pinkerton spoke from a perspective of an American journalist, traveling in the Middle East, while Sweis spoke from a current Jordanian point. Perotti was thrilled with the results. “It was a fascinating session where they both tried to overcome people’s stereotypes,” Perotti said.
In reality, Sweis’ journey after the University has just begun.
“She is accomplishing a great deal and will accomplish a great deal more,”
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Knowlton said. “We’re going to hear from her. I think she will do well.”
Sweis offers the best knowledge she knows to other prospective journalism students. “I’m sure the Hofstra University students will come to their own conclusions,” she said. “I think one thing that would be great is for them to be able to talk to as many people as they can, getting all sides of the story. You will be shocked how much you can learn and how much people would like to be heard.”
She holds strong beliefs in listening to the people.
“When you go to write an article, try not to have an aim or agenda. Let the story write itself,” Sweis said.
Many individuals entering the University have ambitions of where they would like to be when they graduate. Many students come in undecided. Rana Sweis found her passion at the University and has not let go of it since.
“She has an enormous amount of optimism,” Fletcher said. “She has hope. She’s seen a lot of bad, but retains the belief that the world can be made better.”
Sweis touches lives from country to country, constantly hoping to form connections. She has much ambition for the future, while never forgetting to keep in contact with her former professors at the University. “Even if I don’t believe I am [a bridge-builder], I think that I can be.”