What’s your name and what are you studying?
My name is Melad Abdelfattah, I’m studying computer science at the university of Haifa.
What’s your age?
I’m 22 years old.
Can you tell us a little bit about your background and life?
I’m from a small peaceful village surrounded by the beautiful Galilee nature called Kaukab, I grew up in a warm environment that encouraged playing music, loving each other and serving our beloved land, Palestine, which my grandfather, father and uncles paid a huge price for.
As a kid I was inspired by my uncles, Foad and
Mowafaq’s musical work which led me to start playing the Qanun at the age of
11.
In addition to music, I had an interest in
tech/computer that I liked to develop, so when I turned 18, I entered the
university as a CS student which did not work well for me, and I ended up
leaving after just 3 months.
After that I took a 2-year break which I consider as the best thing that happened to me. In these 2 years I learned a lot of things about myself and the world around me.
After this break I came back to the place I
left knowing that this is the perfect timing, and the journey will be more
comfortable and more satisfying …. And here I am!
How did you end up applying for the Galilee scholarship program?
I saw an ad on Facebook it seemed interesting,
so I visited the website and read about it.
Would you have been able to afford to go to university if it was not for this scholarship?
I think that without this scholarship things
would be so much harder for me to manage.
What for you are the key benefits of the program?
Well, the program provides a lot of tools and values that can help us develop our character and face the daily life of Palestinian students in the Israeli universities such as talking skills, confidence and it strengthens the connection between us and our land.
What are the biggest challenges you face in your day to day studies?
Well, the main challenge we face as Arab Palestinian students in Israeli universities is the language, since everything we see, hear and read is in Hebrew.
What are your goals in life and what would you like to do after your studies?
My goal right now is to finish the part of my degree that helps me to start working in some companies, while still a student which helps me a lot for my future and to start being independent as much as I can, and maybe after all of this I can finally start thinking about opening my own restaurant/café which is something I would like to do.
What do you consider to be your greatest achievement to date?
I consider being where I am today as my biggest achievement and surviving all the hard stuff that faced me and learning from my mistakes are all things that I am proud of.
What has been the most significant change in your life since participating in the Scholarship Programme?
Since I started participating in the program, I noticed a lot of changes especially in my character. I started to feel more comfortable and confident enough to share with people and groups my perspectives and opinions.
Tell us why you consider this change to be the most significant.
I think all these changes made me a strong proactive person which I was not before.
Finally….tell us your favourites:
Book: 1984 by George Orwell.
Film: Whiplash
Band/artist: Kaleo
One more thing: Would you like to give a message to our supporters?
Thank you for supporting this program that
gives opportunities and helps all these students to continue their journey
knowing that there is always somebody to lean on.
