Speech for Karamah’s Annual Event

19. January 2010 by Farhana N. Shah.

Good Evening. My name is Farhana Shah and I am a Staff Development Teacher for Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland. I am happy to be here tonight to share my thoughts about Karamah with you.

Karamah is important to me because I believe in its vision and mission. A quote that resonates with me from the leadership program in 2006 was by one of the speakers, Ann Korologos and she said, “The only threat to women’s emancipation is ignorance”. This is something I have believed in since I was a young girl. And the solution to this is education, education, and education! As a Muslim woman, it is a right given to me by God Almighty to obtain education so that I may continue to develop myself and those around me.

What brought me to Karamah is the quest to make a difference in this world.

I attended Karamah’s Law and Leadership Summer Program in July 2006. I found the training intense with many resources and abundant amount of information. Lectures ranged from How to Lead Groups to Harnessing Attitudes, Behavior, and Capabilities. What impressed me about the program at the time was that it was very structured. There was an application process as well as a selection committee so I knew that merely applying to the program did not guarantee that I would be accepted.

The leadership program provided for a great networking opportunity. I met many women from around the nation and world, and all aspects of life. I met a student who came just for the leadership program from Afghanistan. Her stories were fascinating as well as enlightening because we don’t always get the authentic facts through Media. I still get emails from her from time to time.

Currently Karamah impacts my profession on a daily basis in the way I affiliate with my colleagues and supervisors. For instance, in my position, I have to work with many temperaments, attitudes, and sometimes prejudice (because I work with adults. :-)). In order to move forward and provide support to my staff and Administration as a Staff Developer, I “cannot butt heads nor have a chip on my shoulder”, I must exercise in making good judgments by voicing my opinions when needed. And most importantly, I must always reflect and answer the question, “Did I act on my core beliefs today?” I think the most important message I walked away with from Karamah is that in order to communicate, I need to build trust and have integrity(this is what Karamah stands for)- which is crucial to my position as one who coaches and consults staff members on a daily basis. Thank you for listening.

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