Episode 10: A Vastly Bigger Universe (with Samer Hassan)

My guest this week is Samer Hassan. Samer was a student in my public speaking class at Harold Washington College, and one of those people you just KNOW is going to change the world. His life story takes us from Palestine, to Venezuela, to the U.S., and from the loss of literally everything to graduating from an Ivy League university this past May and becoming the Engagement Manager at Young Invincibles in D.C. (Side bar, he had to reschedule this interview because he was needed in drafting a letter to the Senate. You know, like everyone does on a Wednesday evening).

Samer’s story is unique, heartbreaking, and triumphant all at once, and his sense of both the vast beauty of the world and the true depths of its ugliness…it’s utterly compelling. But, fair warning, his story does have some dark moments in it, so if you happen to be listening with littles, this may not be the episode for them. But if you want to be inspired and challenged, this is the episode for you.

A couple of things to know about this episode. One is that our audio connection was occasionally wobbly. You’ll still be able to hear pretty much everything, but it’s imperfect in spots, so you’ll have to forgive that. And you’ll have to forgive a few interviewing gaffes on my part. I left them in, because there can be great truth in misspeaking, in not saying things perfectly, especially when we’re willing to recognize our errors and learn from them. But, oh, was it tempting to edit them out…

We talk about his story, about his growth as a devout Muslim, his love for his familial homeland of Palestine and for the Venezuelan families who helped him in his hour of greatest need. We also talk about his rock collection, a recipe for a skin treatment that he absolutely swears by, and the most-used emoji in the Middle East (if you’re trying to guess, you’re almost certainly wrong).

This conversation is a doozy, so get ready.

The election-night protest. You can’t see Samer, but you CAN see his bright green sign.