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August 30, 2002
Tree
Planted to Honor Nora Ahmed Gabbani
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Photos: Fred LeBlanc
Haifa Jamal al-Lail, dean of
Effat College in Saudi Arabia and mother of the late Nora
Ahmed Gabbani, came to MHC in July to view a tree planted
on campus in her daughter's memory. In the photo above,
she poses with President Joanne V. Creighton. In the photo
below are (left to right) Marcia A. Grant, a consultant
to Effat College; Jamal al-Lail; Sheila Ewing Browne, MHC
professor of chemistry; and Diana Stein, MHC Professor Emeritus
of Biological Sciences.
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Nora Ahmed Gabbani
of Saudi Arabia grew up thousands of miles and worlds away from
Mount Holyoke, but she had hoped to make MHC a significant part
of her life. After visiting the College and meeting three faculty
members, she planned to become a student here one day. A tragic
car accident last July put an end to that dream, when the seventeen-year-old
only child of Haifa Jamal al-Lail, dean of Effat College in Saudi
Arabia, was killed.
On July 26, a white
tigress maple tree was planted next to Mary Lyon Hall and the
library in celebration of Nora Ahmed Gabbani's life. Attending
the planting were Haifa Jamal al-Lail; Marcia A. Grant, a consultant
to Effat College; President Joanne Creighton; Dean of Faculty
Donal O'Shea; Sheila Ewing Browne, professor of chemistry; Diana
Stein, Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences; and Joanne Picard,
dean of international affairs.
Browne, Stein, and
Donald Cotter, associate professor of chemistry, got to know the
dean and her daughter when they visited Effat College last year
to help plan a science curriculum for the women's college, which
was established in Jeddah in 1999 by Princess Lolwah Al-Faisal.
It was after discussions with Cotter about the study of chemistry
at MHC that young Nora was convinced that she would come to South
Hadley to study. Described by her mother as a young woman with
great curiosity and zest for life, and with a particular fondness
for dolphins, Nora Ahmed Gabbani will now be remembered by all
who pass by her tree. She has become a part of Mount Holyoke after
all.
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