Senior Spotlight: Ezzedin Awwad

1. Tell me about yourself. When did you come to PVS?

• I came to PVS when I was 4 (pre-k) and have been in the school ever since, so I have been with the same group of people in my class my entire life.

2. How has attending a Muslim private school shaped your identity and values?

• Attending PVS instead of a non-Muslim public school is the best thing my parents have done for me, because it allowed me to grow up in an Islamic environment and develop my values based on Islamic principles and portray myself as a Muslim more confidently than I would have had I gone to another school.

3. What are your future goals, and how do you see yourself achieving them?

• I plan on getting a degree in civil engineering because I have been interested in the structure of thing and building design. I can achieve this by going to college, most likely the University of Memphis, to study for the degree.

4. If you could pick any Quranic verse, Hadith, or quote that could describe your experience at PVS what would it be and why?

• Surat al-baqarah, ayat 177: لَّيۡسَ ٱلۡبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّواْ وُجُوهَكُمۡ قِبَلَٱلۡمَشۡرِقِ وَٱلۡمَغۡرِبِ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱلۡبِرَّ مَنۡءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأٓخِرِ وَٱلۡمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِوَٱلۡكِتَٰبِ وَٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَءَاتَى ٱلۡمَالَ عَلَىٰحُبِّهِۦ ذَوِي ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰ وَٱلۡيَتَٰمَىٰوَٱلۡمَسَٰكِينَ وَٱبۡنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَٱلسَّآئِلِينَوَفِي ٱلرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَى ٱلزَّكَوٰةَوَٱلۡمُوفُونَ بِعَهۡدِهِمۡ إِذَا عَٰهَدُواْۖوَٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ فِي ٱلۡبَأۡسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَحِينَٱلۡبَأۡسِۗ أُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُواْۖ وَأُوْلَـٰٓئِكَهُمُ ٱلۡمُتَّقُونَ 
  
• This ayah talks about the Islamic definition of righteousness, and I believe that these are the values that everyone in the school should integrate in their life to represent the school and Muslims in the best way possible.

5. What advice do you have for the underclassmen?

• My advice for the underclassmen is to do everything with integrity. The best example of this is AI, which a lot of people use because they are too lazy to do the work or just don’t care. Using AI degrades your character because it gives you a way out of the responsibilities of doing your work, and so you lose your work ethic for everything else as well. People look down upon you because they see you as someone who always takes the easy way out.

6. What is the best and worst thing about being a senior?

• The best thing about being a senior is that you are looked up to by people younger than you. The worst thing is that starting this year, the school is very strict on the seniors, compared to previous years where the seniors had a lot of freedom, such as having a bunch of free periods and being able to skip class without any repercussions.