When the lives of Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha were taken in a senseless tragedy, they were mourned by many, and their impacts on the community were greatly recognized.
“They were gems of their communities and left a lasting impression on the people around them,” said Suzanne Barakat, the older sister of Deah, in a news conference the day after the shooting.
Yet, even in death, their contributions have only grown. One year after their deaths, Deah’s Project Refugee Smiles, a project to bring dental care to Syrian refugees in Turkey, has raised over half a million dollars in funds. The Light House, a community center for youth in downtown Raleigh, is under construction in a home owned by the Barakat family.
On campus, NC State has established the Our Three Winners scholarship endowment to continue the legacy of community service and leadership of Deah, Yusor and Razan. This past fall, two students from each of the Three Winners’ respective colleges, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Poole College of Management and the College of Design were selected as recipients. The six students did not apply for the scholarship, but were instead chosen by faculty from each college.
Wajeha Barakat, who has no relation to Deah and who graduated this past fall with a degree in business, was among the first class of recipients.
Wajeha knew Deah, Yusor and Razan from attending school with Yusor at the Al-Iman School in Raleigh. Close friends with Yusor, Wajeha said they would talk about everything from starting nonprofits to their love lives.
In December 2014, Deah and Yusor were married, and Wajeha was one of her bridesmaids. A few days before the wedding, Wajeha herself became engaged with plans to marry in a year, and Yusor was by her side.
“It was a few days before her wedding, but she still made it out [to congratulate me],” Wajeha said. “Yusor was supposed to be a part of our wedding party. It’s hard not having her there, but she is definitely there in memory and spirit.”
Yusor was not there when Wajeha was married two weeks ago. Her life, her husband’s and sister’s were cut short. Immediately after the shootings, those who knew the three were struck with grief. But for many in the Muslim community, that grief was also accompanied by fear.
“There was a fear instilled in every parent,” Wajeha said. “These people were shot in their own home. They were not somewhere dangerous or in the middle of nowhere. For a tragedy to happen so close, and in the most common place you can find a person, there’s that fear, am I the next victim? Am I going to be targeted? Am I going to be noticed from my headscarf as an outsider? Is someone I go to school with going to consider me ‘they’ and not ‘us?’”
The Our Three Winners scholarship not only exists to help students who serve others financially, but to promote inclusion and community at a time when polarizing immigrant and religious groups is a major narrative in the American political sphere.
“We also intend this scholarship to be a permanent reminder that NC State must always hold as a core value, a respect for diversity in all its forms and strive to maintain an environment where everyone feels safe, respected and valued,” Chancellor Randy Woodson said when he announced the creation of the endowment.
Charlie Eaton, a sophomore studying architecture, also received a scholarship this past fall. Eaton had classes with Razan and was in her intro to architecture class at the time of the shooting. When his class heard the news of the Chapel Hill shooting, Eaton said they gathered together to process the tragedy.
“We met in Professor Barrie’s intro to architecture class and just sat together and absorbed it as a whole,” Eaton said. “Together we walked to the Harris Teeter and bought flowers, went to her desk and put them around.”
When the recipients were awarded the scholarship in August, the endowment had grown to $285,000 from more than 700 individual donors. The scholarship has been endowed in perpetuity. The hope is that the scholarship will serve to continue the legacy of Deah, Yusor and Razan.
“Twenty years down the line, someone will ask, ‘why did I get this scholarship, who are these people?’ And their legacy will be renewed every time this scholarship is passed down,” Wajeha said.
Among the numerous scholarships based on academics and achievements, the Our Three Winners scholarship stands out as a call not only for individual action of the recipient, but for action from the NC State community to come together and celebrate the lives of three students who served their own community as well as others’.
“Receiving the scholarship motivates me to live up to the standards that I imagine Razan, Yusor and Deah held for themselves,” Eaton said. “It’s a reminder of tragedy, but also of the ability of people to come together.”
Although Deah, Yusor and Razan are gone, the Our Three Winners scholarship seeks to continue their spirit of service through future generations of students while memorializing their lives. It serves so that the tragedy that occurred one year ago does not fade from memory and acts as a reminder for the community to come together.
“I hope they [the recipients] recognize that the scholarship came with a great sacrifice to our community,” Wajeha said. “We did lose very important people, but out of it we did get a lot of good things.”
There was a fear instilled in every parent. These people were shot in their own home.”
It’s a reminder of tragedy, but also of the ability of people to come together.”
Charlie Eaton studies architecture in the college of design and was chosen in the first set of Our Three Winners scholarship recipient. Eaton had taken classes with Razan.
