Arab American Heritage Month Convocation Speaker

At Gilmour Academy, we continue to live out our mission of developing the competence to see and the courage to act in creating a more humane and just society. One way we do this each month is by recognizing the heritages represented within our community and creating opportunities for students to learn from lived experience.

In honor of Arab American Heritage Month, we were grateful to welcome Mr. Samer Hilal as our Convocation speaker on April 10. Mr. Hilal shared his journey of immigrating from Damascus, Syria to the United States at age 20, describing America as a place of hope and opportunity where he learned a new language, continued his education and built a more than 30-year career in financial services. Today, he leads a team at Stratos Wealth Partners, supporting individuals and families in planning for their long-term financial goals. He is also a proud member of the Gilmour community as the father of Gia ’24 and Naya ’27, and husband of Luna Hilal.

He opened his remarks by greeting students in Arabic, Sabah al-khayr (Good morning), to which many responded, Sabah an-nūr (Morning of light), creating a meaningful moment of shared cultural connection.

Mr. Hilal encouraged students to dream big and not allow anyone to take their dreams away, reminding them that if someone arriving from another country can begin again and pursue their goals, there should be no limits to what is possible. He also shared a powerful reminder that immigrants come with hope and a desire to live with dignity, encouraging students to respond with kindness and to help nurture that hope for others.

Experiences like this help students connect identity, perseverance and global perspective to their learning while strengthening the sense of belonging that defines our Gilmour community.