On Friday, 19 June 2009, Brother Peter Bray, FSC, Vice Chancellor, and Mr. Fuad Kattan, Chair of the Board of Trustees, presided at the 33rd graduation ceremony of Bethlehem University, the first university founded in Palestine.

Marcelle Kuttab Khoury and Rawan Liddawi – both members of the 33rd and largest graduating class in Bethlehem University’s 35-year history – know the power of a dream, the value of commitment, and the importance of a community of support.

They are among the 572 students joining Bethlehem University’s now 11,388-member alumni family. They are members who embody the spirit of hope and dedication that marks a Bethlehem University education. For Marcelle, graduation is the culmination of a nearly 20 year journey to pursue her bachelors degree.  For Rawan, it is a celebration of being the first in her family to earn a bachelors degree, and as the top academic student for the entire university.

Raphaela Fischer Mourra (BU ’07), completed her Masters in Journalism from Georgetown University in June 2009, with highest honors!

Raphaela earned her bachelors degree in English with high honors from Bethlehem University in 2007.  Thanks to the financial support of a generous donor to Bethlehem University, Raphaela successfully enrolled at the prestigious Georgetown University in the United States to pursue her Masters degree.

She will return to Bethlehem University as a faculty member in August 2009 to help develop a journalism program.

Raphaela, who is married with a young child, was recently profiled in a Georgetown University News feature: