Ahlam Gheith

Commencement Student Speaker 2022

Ahlam Gheith is a powerful woman who has overcome tremendous odds and exudes compassion and kindness to all those with whom she interacts. She is the proud mother of seven children and returned to college after 20 years. She is a proud Palestinian-American and has been an honored resident of Riverside County for more than 10 years.

Ahlam attended Alexandria Senior High School in Louisiana and then went to the American Airline Academy in Texas to earn a certificate in Travel and Hospitality. She understood at an early age that to live a successful life she needed to have a mindset focused on overcoming obstacles and staying positive during the most difficult situations. Her trust in God and in herself with hard work and determination to achieving her goals have been the backbone to her obtaining, five associate degrees at Norco College. Her degrees are as follows: 1. Political Science, 2. Psychology, 3. Humanities, Philosophy, and Arts, 4. Social and Behavioral Studies, and 5. Communications, Media, and Language.

Staying busy is never a challenge for Ahlam. She stays active in educating herself both in and outside of the classroom. She loves to learn new skills and take on new hobbies. She is an accomplished photographer. Even with her busy schedule she loves to serve her community and others. She has volunteered coaching the Youth of her community, fitness boot camps. She enjoys staying active with, outdoor activates, weightlifting, and working out. Her hobbies include Photography, photo editing, reading, and Art and loves the beach. She is passionate about educating herself as well as others. As a result, Ahlam has been a board member for the School of Education of Reach Leadership Steam Academy for seven years. She has also taught two years of Art, and physical Education at a private school.

Ahlam is committed to her family and setting a good example for her children, she leads by example. She is graduating from Norco College with Honors and was a member of the Dean’s List every semester she attended Norco College. Her future goals include being a National Speaker advocating for others who can’t advocate for themselves, motivating and helping individual growth, using her political science background and psychology. She is committed to improving the lives of anyone she can help. She is excited to help others achieve their dreams and goals. Her philosophy for life is to trust in God and keep pushing forward, and never be afraid to start over! She is living proof of Abraham Lincoln’s famous phrase that good things come to those who wait, but better things come to those who hustle.

Ms. Gheith will be attending UCR in the fall double majoring in psychology and Political Science with a minor in Communication Studies. Ahlam auditioned and was chosen to be the 2022 Norco College Commencement Speaker because of her love of education and her passion for positively influencing others