Westminster College Graduate Receives Special Honor on his Birthday

Abdullah Al-Hadeethi from Baghdad, Iraq, received two special gifts on his birthday May 10.  Not only did he walk across the stage of Champ Auditorium as a new graduate of Westminster College, he was presented with the most prestigious award for graduating seniors Westminster College bestows, the Outstanding Senior Award, from Johanna Dowdy Lee, ’83, member of the Westminster College Alumni Council.

Since his parents were unable to make the long trip to commencement, four members of his Westminster family, Dr. Bob Hansen, Dr. Kurt Jefferson, Professor Matt Murrie, and Jackie Weber,  joined him on the stage when he received the honor.

Abdullah was a member of the Skulls of Seven, President of the Capture the Moment photography club, and President of the International Club.

As a Student Ambassador, he traveled across the United States representing the College in 24 cities as a member of our Blue Jay Road Crew and was named Junior Ambassador of the year and more recently, received the organization’s Distinguished Service Award.

Abdullah was a resident advisor for three years, served on the College’s International Student Task Force, and was one of only two students to represent Westminster at the National Conference on Ethics in America at West Point.

He raised money for underprivileged villages in African as a group leader of WestMo for Hope,  raised funds for those affected by an earthquake in Japan, and helped raise money for Syrian refugees affected by war.  He established the Middle East North Africa Conference on campus, and he will be at Westminster next year as the 2014-15 Westminster Fellow for Intercultural Engagement.

The Outstanding Senior Award was established in 1977 by the Westminster College Alumni Association to honor a well-respected graduating senior for service to Westminster College, the city of Fulton, and the surrounding community and their living group as well as living a life of success, significance, and service while at Westminster College.

“Abdullah has demonstrated a genuine desire to make this world, and this campus, a better place,” says Dr. Bob Hansen who nominated the talented senior for the award.  “He has compassion for those in need and he has demonstrated throughout his four years at Westminster that he is a servant-leader—empowering others, caring for those who need help, and standing up for what is right.  He epitomizes what we want all of our students to become—a critical thinker who doesn’t stop at thinking…a critical thinker who acts upon this thinking to become an agent of positive change and in doing so, he makes everyone else a better person.”