2025 Grad Profile: Habiba Geweifal

I was struggling with some words and would switch into English. I just felt this sense of loss—I didn’t want to lose that language, I didn’t want to continue the rest of my life without knowing this language because not only is it tied to my family, it’s tied to where they came from and their experiences, and it’s also largely tied to my religion. It’s such a sophisticated language that if you don’t take the time to study and learn it, you won’t get the full, deep understanding of Islam. 

As I started applying for colleges. I recognized that if I didn’t prioritize learning Arabic, I don’t know when I would be able to do that. So I thought no, now is the time to really focus in on Arabic. So many people were telling me this is just a skill you can learn wherever—you’re going to university, you want to major in something useful. That really struck me, because I thought Arabic was useful. I don’t know why it was seen as something that would be a waste of my time, a waste of my university years and money and all of these things. So I stayed true to what I believed in, I majored in Arabic. I became 100% certain that this was indeed the most fulfilling path for me when the atrocities in Gaza began to unfold. It was eye-opening because suddenly I could read and understand the Tweets, posts, and articles being written by Palestinians in Arabic. 

But because of all the talk around me I decided, maybe I should look for something else related to it. And that’s when I found linguistics. And after my first class of linguistics, I fell in love with that as well. And it related so closely to Arabic because both majors allowed me to gain a deeper understanding of the other. It was an incredible way to tie in both of those fields. And so I’m thankful for those who were telling me not to major in it and whatnot because I ended up with a double major in two fields I absolutely love and hope that I will continue to use in the future.

How did studying languages shape your experience at Cal?

Normally, in larger classes you really don’t have the opportunity to interact with your professors or your classmates, people who are sitting right next to you. You go in, you focus on the screen, and you’re out. It really doesn’t give you the opportunity to learn about one another. And that’s the most important thing, in whatever field you are going into, is learning how to connect with the people around you, how to work with the people around you. The smaller class sizes in the Arabic program allowed me to connect with my professors. They knew me by name, and I knew them. It made going to office hours and reaching out a lot easier, because it felt like there was already a connection. 

With my classmates, a lot of them were with me from the beginning—from Arabic 1A to 100B, we were moving through it together. We would always help one another, we would ask for one another’s advice, study with one another. And in this way, we were able to not only learn the language but we were able to teach one another. I think that is also one of the most important things when it comes to learning—can you help somebody else with it? When you’re able to do that, the work and the field becomes much more valuable. It allows you to be in a give and take relationship with your classmates and professors. Being in those classes I felt that I was able to build a connection with the people who are passionate about what I’m passionate about. Because we learn from one another, and because we trust one another, we’re able to even further help one another. 

Did you have a favorite course or instructor?

In terms of my Arabic courses, all of the professors are just incredible. My first professor, Ustatha Nathalie, was just amazing. She allowed me to fall in love with the language. From there I had Ustatha Elsa and Ustath Haitham, and Ustatha Amal. I would say that my favorite course was with Ustatha Amal, which was the Moroccan dialect course. It was just absolutely mindblowing. Coming from speaking the Egyptian dialect, the Moroccan dialect was completely different to me, and I was really nervous going into it. But the way that Ustatha Amal taught this course, and the way that she brought in the cultural aspect of it—because without language, you wouldn’t have food, you wouldn’t have culture, you wouldn’t have all these different things that make up people. The way that she was able to teach it and allow our class to fall in love with it was just amazing. The summer after that I ended up studying abroad in Morocco, and because of her course and that introduction to the dialect, I was able to get around much more than I thought I was going to. She helped me become so involved in another dialect and culture, and I feel that it really strengthened my understanding of Arabic as a whole.

What are your post-graduation plans?

In the fall I will be starting a master’s program in speech language pathology at San Jose State University. I’m hoping to connect what I’ve learned in Arabic and linguistics to the field of speech language pathology because to me, again, it’s all about communication, it’s all about connection. I’m really hoping to do research into the benefits of bilingual speech pathology, because there are so many people in our communities who speak more than just English, and who are exposed to more than just English in their homes, their environments and communities. And so when people need speech therapy, they’re not just limited to English. So why would we focus in on only improving their English, when it’s so much more than that? Our minds are not in one language, in our minds we’re switching between different languages. It is a skill, and something that will allow you to understand the world more. When speech language pathologists are working with clients, it should be open to using both of a client’s languages, or all of their languages. Being able to incorporate that, I hope to discover that it is useful and it is something that can benefit them in their speech therapy journeys.

What advice do you have for students who haven’t yet taken a language at Cal?

It can seem like a lot. It can seem like those five units are going to just destroy you. But you’ll gain so much more than those five units. You will just be introduced to a world that is beyond what you can imagine in your regular courses. Languages courses at Berkeley are truly something unique, something that you should really strive to take at least once. You will really find that you are going to build a community. You’re not only going to learn a language, you’re going to learn about culture, about different places around the world, about how different languages have impacted other languages. And you’re going to learn from the people right next to you, who are also learning the language. Language is a skill that you will carry on throughout your life. Wherever you go, whatever field you are going to be in, it will be a benefit. It will be something that will allow you to continue to connect with people, to continue to learn about the world around you. And that is the thing that we are lacking in the most, in today’s day and age. Language will open those doors for you, because it is the way we are able to communicate with one another, to connect and understand one another. If you just take that small effort to learn a little bit of a language, you will see how much it will deepen and strengthen your understanding of somebody else. I really think language is key in everything we do.