During my time in Malaysia, I learned as much as I taught in my quiet, rural town in the state known for its rice paddy fields.
I spent my days educating students in many subjects while navigating a new culture and communicating with people of drastically different backgrounds. My time in southeast Asia allowed me to see not only how essential adaptability is but also how education and health are foundations of success.
My time as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in Malaysia was one of the best times of my life. My town, Kuala Ketil, welcomed me with open arms. I was teaching at a secondary school for students ages 13 to 17. Overwhelmed with the students’ shy smiles at school and always hearing “Hi, teacher,” as I walked throughout the school hallways, the students reminded me of the joy I had for the opportunity to teach and live in Malaysia. Through teaching, not only do others have the opportunity to learn about the different lives we live, but we also have the greater opportunity of immersing ourselves in their culture and customs and serving them on an extremely personal level.
With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was evacuated seven months early. It was heartbreaking to leave so suddenly, without the chance to say proper goodbyes. I had so many meaningful experiences and beautiful memories to take home with me. Malaysia will always hold a special place in my heart.
It was difficult coming back home so suddenly in the midst of a global pandemic and wondering what I was going to do for the next year. I’ve known that I’ve always wanted to study business to supplement my career goal of becoming a dentist and owning my own dental practice. That’s when I applied to WVU’s Master of Business Administration Program.
“With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was evacuated seven months early. It was heartbreaking to leave so suddenly... Malaysia will always hold a special place in my heart.”
– Jana El-Khatib
There is a major entrepreneurial component to practicing dentistry. You must learn to market yourself, your skills, office and manage a team of dental hygienists, dental assistants and office staff. This is why I believe it’s beneficial to receive the proper knowledge and skills from WVU’s MBA program.
I chose to study psychology for my bachelor’s degree because it is something that interests me, and I wanted to have a varied all-around education. I believe the social sciences are very important for dentistry, specifically since dentists interact face-to-face with patients every day. While you are treating a tooth, you’re also treating a human being with emotions and thoughts.
Dental anxiety and phobia are common, and it’s important for dentists to break those social and psychological barriers so that the patient can feel comfortable and cooperate, which in turn will enhance the results of the treatment and prognosis. Through my experiences studying psychology at WVU, I got involved in research and served as a teaching assistant for an introduction to social psychology course for several semesters. This gave me the foundational pedagogy experience to work as an English teaching assistant for the Fulbright Scholarship Program. I learned how to effectively instruct a classroom and became accustomed to a hands-on, interactive approach to teaching that was valuable to my students.
As an Arab-American born and raised in the heart of Appalachia in a small West Virginia town, my family's culture, traditions and religion differed from what most people surrounding us were accustomed to. I'm the daughter of two immigrants who came to America for a better life. Studying Arabic at WVU allowed me to get in touch with my roots and reconnect with the Arabic language.
I have a lot of family members overseas who only speak Arabic, and I was never able to carry on a full conversation without feeling embarrassed or afraid I was going to make a mistake. However, with my Arabic minor and involvement with the Arabic Studies Club, cultural events on campus and interactions with international students, I gained confidence in my language skills and strengthened my cultural competence.
My liberal arts and sciences education prepared me to navigate the pandemic and find resilience by being open to new ways of understanding and learning. This ultimately is the core behind inquiry-based education.
It has allowed me to think through challenges with empathy and be able to see new ways of culture, beliefs and ideas. This experience led me to appreciate the differences and commonalities that exist across the world.
When I become a dentist, I know I will gain the opportunity to work directly and indirectly with patients while using my strengths as a leader to help improve patient care. I feel confident that my background in psychology, science, business and opportunities overseas in Malaysia have contributed to my strengths and will grant me the life of discovery and service that I so greatly desire.
This past year I’ve learned there are certainly things that happen out of our control, but we must have trust in ourselves and the process that things will get better. It’s OK to take your own path to get to an end goal. Every person’s journey is going to differ; what matters is that you’re building your own unique life experiences to supplement that journey.
Jana El-Khatib, a native of Hurricane, is a Master of Business Administration student at West Virginia University. She graduated with honors from WVU in May 2019 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and a minor in Arabic studies. During her undergraduate studies, she served as the president of the Arabic Studies Club, traveled to Bahrain for the Honors College global service learning study abroad trip and co-founded the WVU Voices social media platform, where students on campus share their stories. She was a 2020 Fulbright Scholar English Teaching Assistant at a secondary school in Malaysia, a flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government designed to enhance international relations and diplomacy. She plans to enroll in dental school to improve oral healthcare access and reduce the gap in oral health disparities.