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May 16, 2008
A Family Affair: Mother-Daughter
Duo
Achieve Their Dreams Together
In 1981, one year after Insaf Abdullah emigrated to the United States from Palestine by way of Jordan, she gave birth to her first and only child, a girl named Zaynab. Twenty-seven years later, the proud mother will celebrate her daughter’s graduation—as well as her own—when they turn their tassels together at Columbia University’s School of General Studies commencement ceremony on May 19.
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Insaf Abdullah, right, and her daughter Zaynab
Photograph by Eileen Barroso
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“We didn’t plan to graduate together,” Ms. Abdullah said. “My mom was enrolled part-time at the School of General Studies, and when I came, I enrolled full-time, and caught up with her. We are very excited to share this day.”
Mrs. Abdullah, a political science major, and Ms. Abdullah, a Middle East studies major, both practicing Muslims, have made a habit of traveling the path to higher education together.
“In 1999, after Zaynab graduated from Preston High School, an all-girls Bronx Catholic school, she joined me in running the family insurance business,” Mrs. Abdullah said. “I decided it was time to continue my education, and I enrolled at Westchester Community College. Shortly thereafter, Zaynab did the same.”
After graduation, Mrs. Abdullah will continue to run her insurance business and hopes to return to Columbia, this time to pursue a master’s degree in political science. Eventually, she would also like to return to Palestine.
Her daughter, however, has very different plans after graduation. Recently married, she will join her husband who lives in the Middle East. While she has visited the region, Ms. Abdullah has never lived outside of the United States.
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