A Palestinian physician and peace activist will deliver the keynote speech at the Saint Joseph’s College commencement ceremony on Saturday.
Commencement speaker Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish will also receive an honorary doctorate from the Catholic college in Standish, as will Anna Gould, the founder of Camp Sunshine in Casco for children with life-threatening illnesses, and alumna Mary Kneeland, a member of the Sisters of Mercy.
Abuelaish grew up in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip and has overcome poverty, violence and the deaths of his daughters and nieces during war. A public health professor at the University of Toronto, he is focused on the health and education of women and girls in the Middle East.
He wrote a bestselling autobiography, “I Shall Not Hate,” and has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times.
In addition to Abuelaish, commencement speakers will include valedictorian Michelle Stansfield, a nursing student from Berwick, and graduating online student Patricia Kearney Luvin, a Catholic chaplain from Rockville Centre, N.Y.
The ceremony begins at 10 a.m.
Leslie Bridgers can be contacted at 791-6364 or at:
Twitter: lesliebridgers
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