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For the graduating senior who best embodies the legacy of Whitney teacher Fadia Breik. After immigrating to the U.S. from Damascus and learning to read and write English in only six months, Ms. Breik joined the Whitney faculty in 1984 as a math teacher, and later also taught Physics and served as Chair of the Math Department. She was the recipient of a Special Mini-Grant from the ABC Education Foundation for her work in robotics education. Ms. Breik taught for more than 32 years before retiring. Since then, she has continued to serve the district on the boards of both the ABC Education Foundation and the Whitney Foundation, and has been running our Summer Academy for more than 12 years, raising tens of thousands of dollars annually to help meet the educational needs of Whitney students.
Ms. Breik and her husband became U.S. citizens in 1988. The next day was Whitney’s International Day, so our principal arranged a special flag-raising ceremony to celebrate, with the band playing the national anthem and singing “America the Beautiful,” and a speech featuring a punny joke about Labor Day and the recognition that immigrants make our tomorrow a better place.
In a more recent video, Ms. Breik explains how she ended up becoming a teacher at Whitney as a new immigrant.
For its inaugural year, The Fadia Breik Award comes with a grant of $1000.
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