Student makes most of experience in 'new home'

  Thursday, February 25, 2016 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

As Basel Alkassab worked last year as a social work intern in Rep. Lynn Jenkins’s Pittsburg office, he couldn’t help but see much of himself in the people he was helping.

“It was a proud and fulfilling experience for me,” Alkassab said, “because at one time, my case was at the social office and Rep. Jenkins helped me. It felt good to pay it forward and help others.”

Alkassab, a junior at Pittsburg State, is in his third year in the United States after fleeing his war-torn home country of Syria. His request for asylum was granted last April with the help of Jenkins and her staff, and Alkassab said that was one of the best moments of his life.

The next step: becoming a naturalized citizen.

“The U.S. is my home,” he said. “I love it here. What we have here in the U.S. … it’s 200 million times better than anywhere else.”

Alkassab, who first attended Foothill Community College in California upon arriving in the U.S., said he discovered Pitt State through a local connection.

“One of my friends whom I grew up with in Syria was here in Pittsburg,” he said. “He told me about this place and said I would love it. I came here, and he was right. I loved it right away.”

He said what stood out the most was “how kind and nice” the people are.

“The people here are awesome,” he said. “I’ve never seen people that are this loving and caring. Pittsburg really made me feel at home. I tell people that this is my hometown. I consider the people I’ve met here to be my family.”

Since enrolling at Pittsburg State, Alkassab has worked hard to make the most of his university experience. That includes being the only current PSU student with four declared majors. The aspiring hotel management professional is majoring in management, international business, political science and international studies.

And as a member of the PSU ROTC, Alkassab also has a minor in military science. If he maintains this regimen through completion, Alkassab will become the first student in PSU history to graduate with four majors and a minor.

“It’s a lot, but I enjoy it,” he said. “I enjoy doing stuff. I don’t sleep well at night if I don’t feel like I accomplished something on that day. Being busy is fun for me.”

When he’s not working on homework or studying, Alkassab works on campus in the multimedia center, serves as the risk management chair for the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity and is a volunteer firefighter in Arma.

“Being involved in various organizations gives me that sense of belonging that I enjoy,” he said. “I want to do things. I want to help people.”

And if he finds himself needing some help of his own?

“Everyone at PSU is so accessible,” he said. “That’s one thing I really love about this place. If you need something or need to talk to someone, you can. If you need to talk to a dean or a chair or a professor, you just have to ask.

Everyone here will give you the time. It’s very nice.”