THE NEW PATRIOT

OCTOBER 28, 2015 ISSUE

FROM EGYPT TO FAIRFAX

How unrest in North Africa led Heba El-Shazli to find her calling in Masons
classrooms
BY LORI LAWSON

ituated behind her desk in George Mason Universitys

School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs,

Dr. Heba El-Shazli appears at home surrounded by volumes of

books and mementos from her trips abroad. Her physical
environment reflects her mission as a professor: to bring together
history and professional experience to teach students about the
complexities of the Middle East and North Africa.
For El-Shazli, the region holds deep personal significance. As a daughter to a member of the
Egyptian foreign service, El-Shazli was slated to move to Washington, D.C., following her
fathers orders to assume post at the Egyptian Embassy in early spring 1967. Before the move
could be completed, however, the Six-Day War broke out between Israel and the
surrounding states of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Provoked by United States support of Israel,
Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser ceased diplomatic operations at the Egyptian
embassy in Washington, D.C., derailing the familys plans to move.

El-Shazli and her family instead followed new orders to take up post in the Egyptian
embassy in London. After four years, they returned to Egypt awaiting a new assignment.
During this time the 1973 Arab-Israeli war broke out. When a stalemate was reached and
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat resumed diplomatic relations with the United States, El-
Shazli once again found herself on a path to the United States as her father was tasked with
re-opening the embassy.

Where we ended up was determined by wars and diplomatic relations, El-Shazli recalls
with a short laugh and a small sigh.

El-Shazli did not settle into an unassuming life as a high school student in Arlington, Va.
Instead, she used the opportunities afforded to her as the daughter of a diplomat to gain
access into the world of international affairs and foreign policy. By September 1978, she
could be found shaking hands with Sadat at the signing of the Camp David Accords in the
presence of United States President Jimmy Carter.

er interest soon translated into formal

education as she earned a bachelors

degree in foreign service and masters degree

in international relations in short succession
from Georgetown University. Building off of
her education, El-Shazli then held a number of
positions in the non-profit sector aimed at
promoting democracy in the Middle East and

North Africa.

By 2004, El-Shazli was serving as the regional program director for the Middle East and
North Africa at the Solidarity Center in Washington, D.C. Throughout the course of the next
seven years, El-Shazli took on an increasing number of managerial responsibilities,
including planning workshops and trainings.

She soon found her passion for teaching as she began the deliver the sessions herself, often
in Arabic to avoid the added burden of hiring a translator. When the time came for her
supervisor to ask about her desired professional development opportunities, El-Shazli had
a clear answer: I want to teach.

Soon after, El-Shazli was tasked with delivering a lecture on the importance of learning a
language to a class at the Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Her words left a mark on the
head of the department, who reached out to El-Shazli about a fellowship opportunity to
teach for a semester at VMI. Upon being accepted into the program, El-Shazli transitioned
almost completely out of her professional role with the Solidarity Center to immerse
herself in teaching.

It was luxurious, she remarks, this idea to go back to school and read all of the books that
were on my shelves!

El-Shazli quickly made the decision to turn her four-month sabbatical into an academic
year foray into teaching. Looking back, she remarks, That was probably a big sign from
above telling me this is what I should do.

l-Shazli soon committed to becoming a full-time professor as she left her position
with the Solidarity Center to pursue a doctorate in government and international

affairs from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. This transition did not come
as a surprise to her family.

You know, I always told you that you should be a teacher, El-Shazli recalls her husband
saying when she told him of her intent.

After just three and a half years, El-Shazli received
her doctorate and commenced searching for
adjunct teaching positions in the Northern
Virginia region she first called home as a resident
of the United States. She soon found an
opportunity in spring 2013 at GMU to fill in for a
friend and full-time professor as an adjunct professor while he was away on sabbatical. By
fall 2013, El-Shazli secured a position as full-time faculty in addition to adjunct teaching at
her alma mater, Georgetown University.

er passion for the subject backed by her years of professional experience made El-
Shazli an immediate favorite among students. Rather than allowing her students to

function as passive observers to her lectures, she challenges them to contribute as part of a
collaborative learning journey.

Students raise amazing questions and have interesting insights, she shares, Im like
Wow, this is great! I didnt quite think of it what way!


Above all else, her aim in opening the door to dialogue is to actively engage her students in
challenging the many misconceptions surrounding the Middle East and North Africa. For
El-Shazli, highlighting the diversity within the region is of utmost importance across all of
her courses.

Hopefully I can instill a sense of optimism, a sense of hope, and a sense of reality about
what is real and what isnt about the region because there is so much misunderstanding
and lack of information, she states.

With her infectious enthusiasm and evident determination, there is little doubt that she will
continue to accomplish this goal as she transforms ordinary students into international
affairs scholars in the classrooms of GMU.