When I was the Graduate Admissions Coordinator in the English Department, I had the honor of getting to know Zeineb Mrad Bouali, who was pursing her MA in English Literature. My heart sank when I received an email in November 2022 saying that Zeineb passed unexpectedly on September 9, 2022. The cause was unknown, but “she died in the most peaceful and painless way possible,” her daughter assured.
Zeineb Bouali was the embodiment of perseverance and determination. She remained steadfast in her two-year application process to the MA English Literature program at Mason, navigating various challenges: taking the TOEFL [Test of English as a Foreign Language], procuring her transcript from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences of Tunis, having it translated from Arabic, and other technical barriers. Ever diligent, she was admitted into the program in 2021.
The first time I met Zeineb, she came to campus with her daughter, Ons, who is currently a post-baccalaureate fellow at National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. I was touched to see how much her daughter adored her. Ons asked questions for Zeineb (I wondered who the mother was in the scenario) and even took a picture with her at the Mason card office when Zeineb got her student ID. My eyes tear up now just remembering that endearing moment. Zeineb wrote to me the next day saying, “Ons took me to the GMU Barnes & Noble and got me some GMU gear. Then she took me to lunch and finally to get me school supplies! I thought I only needed a notebook, a pen, and my laptop, but Ons didn’t think so.”
Zeineb’s second daughter, Amany, who is a junior at Virginia Commonwealth University with a double major in Finance and Journalism, said of her mother: “Doing her master’s here in the United States had been a dream for her, and she was so happy to be studying again.” Both children shared how proud they were that their mother was in graduate school. Years before, Zeineb had been pursuing her higher education degree when she became pregnant and had to put her academic career on hold. Now that her daughters were independent, she could invest in herself and her passions again.
With an unwavering adoration for their mother, Ons, Amany, and their father, Fathi, are creating a scholarship in Zeineb’s name, which will debut in Fall 2025. The scholarship will be dedicated to those who have had to pause their educational goals or have been displaced and are returning to fulfill their dream of obtaining a degree, and it will be open to all majors in Mason’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, both undergraduate and graduate students, including permanent residents, international students, or DACA students.
“My mom dedicated her life to my success,” Amany says. “I wish she had had more time so I could give her that level of support back. I hope this scholarship can offer someone in a similar position a needed boost to pursue their own goals that may have been pushed aside by the hardships and challenges of life.”
To donate to the scholarship fund for the Zeineb Mrad Bouali Tenacity and Perseverance Award, visit the Office of Advancement and Alumni Relations here.
Every time I talked with Zeineb, she expressed how much she was loving her studies and how much joy this path brought to her life. She particularly enjoyed Dr. Tamara Harvey’s Introduction to Literary Theory course.
“I enjoyed having her in class,” Harvey says. “The class was one of my best because of how smart and engaged all the students were, and Zeineb was absolutely central to that dynamic. I’m heartbroken.”
When I met with Zeineb in July 2022, I got the chance to tell her that my wife and I were in the process of growing our family. She was thrilled for us and articulated that being a mom has been one of the most fulfilling aspects of her life. She beamed brightly talking about her love for her daughters.
It's difficult to comprehend her untimely passing. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to grow close to her daughters and to have shared my daughter’s pictures with them. If my own daughter has even a fraction of the admiration for me that Ons and Amany have for their mother, I will consider myself successful.
Zeineb’s legacy is vibrant—just like her smile in these photographs. I am going to hold onto her perseverance, determination, and unabashed joy in the face of hardship.
To end on some words from Ons: “My mom was the most hardworking, passionate, principled, considerate, and intelligent woman I have ever known; her resilience was inspirational and her sacrifices for my sister and I made us who we are. I am lucky to carry my mother's verve and kindness, it's like I get to share her with whoever I meet because she is such a big part of who I am. My name, Ons, she picked for me because it means ‘to keep one company’ in Arabic. I was my mother's company when she was an immigrant here with nothing. She is my company now in her absence, when I have everything because she gave it all to me and my sister."
Holly Mason Badra (She/Her/Hers) is the associate director of Mason’s Women and Gender Studies Program.
July 29, 2024