The Good Intention Maker

Omar Alrubai TD class of 2017 Alum

N.B. 

At New Rochelle Train Station, I just got a really big hug from Zack Sweetland, an eighth-grader graduate. He says hi to his classmates from 2012.

Almost every school week, do profiles and alumnus and or alumni science. Omar Alibi is both a parent and a graduate. It is here for you to enjoy.

Alrubai is his last name, and he graduated from T-D in 2017. His class had 29 seniors; hard to imagine that now. Also hard to imagine is a whole different Omar Alrubai, one T-D always wanted him to be,  one with no rough edges, and now he can truly be thought of as a diamond in the rough.

Omar described all his years here as beautiful. Prior to his T-D entry, Omar was a student at the Medina School in Mount Vernon, and while he valued it, he felt he could’ve done somewhat better at T-D with more  English classes there. 

Medina is the school that represents the best childhood Islamic education. 

Once Omar became a T-D regular, he understoodably had some difficulties in English and had to work hard to compensate for them. Mr. Chapin was most helpful and often came to his rescue. 

So why was T-D beautiful to Omar, as he said? Firstly, one can pick one’s courses, and throughout middle and upper school, Omar did just that. Having choices is a wonderful thing, especially since no other school I know had any. T-D did.  

Even better than choice where the available courses many taught nowhere else, courses that excited Omar, like

  • Romancing the Stones 

  • Science Fiction as History

  • Digital Photography 

  • Music and Art 

  • Alaskan Architecture 

  • Digital Music

  • The Art of Myth

  • Sinatra’s Music and Times  

  • Latin American Literature 

  • The Art of Gaming  

  • Food Science 

All were a part of his personal school schedule and all designed to reflect T-D’s annual scholastic themes. 

Ironically, it was because of T-D’s themes that Omar went from trying to avoid assignments to being excited in doing them, and that made all the struggles so much more easy in doing so.  

Omar couldn’t stop talking about the T-D faculty. He’d always seek help from Mrs. Vasendin for math, even when Mr. Johnson was his math teacher. He simply liked her so much and wouldn’t ask  Mr. Johnson so he could better disguise his weakness in math.

Enormous praise was given to Dr. Allan, a T-D science teacher. Allen always had great faith in Omar and helped him to come alive in grade 11 when Omar intensified his focus and discovered that hard work was a formula for academic success.

Of all the T-D courses, the one titled Revolutionaries and Peacemakers touched Omar like none other. He also found   Glory Days to be the most illuminating week each school year. Glory Days takes place in the first week of February each year, and students customarily visit sacred sides, sacred grounds, churches, mosques, temples, shrines, and cemeteries. “Being Muslim allowed me to gain insight into all the kids’ beliefs and reflect upon my own,” Omar said. 

The reader should remember that throughout his T-D experiences, Omar worked after school each day in his family's grocery business, a gourmet deli and grocery store called Pruzzos in the Bronx. It's a reasonably large food store with 20 employees, all under Omar’s supervision today.  Who’d a thunk it!!

After graduating from T-D, Omar attended Westchester Community College and Lehman College. He received his B.S. in business, so managing a store—even a good-sized store like Pruzzos—became a perfect fit.  

In closing, Omar had very warm words for many of his classmates. In particular, he considered Michael Fannelli the nicest kid in T-D and Gavin Tomilson the kindest he had ever met. 

Omar was delighted to learn his friend Andrew Breazna was still involved in sound engineering and doing his master’s at the Rochester Institute of Technology. 

Omar is now a proud T-D parent with a daughter, Aleen, who is in kindergarten and preparing to be a member of the class of 2037. Imagine that!

 Words of advice from Omar for T-D students today: 

“Be yourself, don’t force yourself on anybody, and force yourself to be someone else.  Be open-minded to others, 

fight hate, and leave your ego outside and behind.”And now, words for his daughter have all said:  “ Stay motivated.”

Omar couldn’t leave my office without praising Chris Miles, Mazin Fawzy, Naya Brown-Yohay, and Diale Takona.

Omar, from the class of 17, who understandably had to hide somewhat, is now leading and is a T-D asset with many good intentions. He works hard, supports those who work for him, and always honors his family. This is Omar’s credo.