Beirut tragedy inspires graduate’s public health mission

Wadad Itani, MPH ’24

Health Behavior and Health Education

March 15, 2024

Wadad Itani calls August 4, 2020, “the last normal day” for her and her family. It’s also the day she knew she wanted to dedicate the rest of her life to public health causes.

At least 218 people died and another 6,000 were injured that fateful day, according to the Associated Press, when one of the largest non-nuclear explosions rocked the Port of Beirut and devastated much of her native city.

“To this day, I wonder how and why we survived,” said Itani, whose home was located “fairly close” to the explosion. “One minute, we were watching TV and the next I went to get my son because I thought it was an earthquake. Fortunately, we were in a narrow corridor when the blast happened, the only place in our house that didn’t get destroyed. The windows were shattering all over the place, and I am standing there with my kids thinking this is it, this is the end.

“For the next few days, I reflected on it a lot. I was disappointed in the lack of emergency plans that were there and the importance of having them. I was hugging my kids 24/7.

“I decided on that day that I was given a second chance at life and that I was going to make it count. If this meant that my capacity was little acts of kindness everywhere I go, then so be it. But if I was given a chance to play a bigger role, then I will make sure to cultivate the purpose of life and always choose to prioritize humanity.”

Itani will graduate in May from the University of Michigan School of Public Health with a Master of Public Health degree in Health Behavior and Health Education.

Wanting to help people from the beginning

Itani’s drive to help people began as a young girl in Beirut.

Her mother is a primary care physician with a clinic in the heart of the city. Itani grew up spending time at the clinic, seeing her mother connecting people to resources, listening to them and truly carrying that responsibility with her.

It left an indelible impression.

“I thought, this is what I am going to do,” Itani said. “I want to help people. If I were a doctor, I would know who needed help and I’d be able to do so.”

She would go on to earn bachelor’s degrees in Biology and Education from the American University of Beirut (AUB), graduating in 2010. She would soon find inspiration in her surroundings, leading her on a path to public health.

“I was a pre-med student originally, but I didn’t find myself resonating a lot with the competitive environment,” Itani said.

Itani, who got married at 21 and had her first child at 23, moved to Saudi Arabia with her husband at a time when women couldn’t drive and didn’t have many work opportunities in that country. During this stage of her life, she also learned lessons about bringing real-life change to the community around her without being in a formal role or even getting recognition for it.

“The group of women I encountered were phenomenal and were changing the world with kindness any chance they got,” Itani said. “I taught a bit in preschools and that was supported by the group of women who had a view on women empowering women that to this day drives me to do the same.”

Soon, she would find herself torn between wanting to be the best mother for her children and having space for being herself outside of motherhood.

“I was seeing my friends become physicians and getting their PhDs and I always felt that drive in me to go back to school and have that space for me to be something other than just a mother,” Itani said. “I also was aware of how fortunate I was to be able to not have to work and to enjoy the joys of motherhood in all it has to offer. Motherhood was—and still is—the role I value the most.”

Moving back home, finding a mentor

After 10 years of moving around Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Itani and her family moved back to Lebanon, where her sister introduced her to the Center of Civic Engagement at AUB. At the center, Itani met her mentor, Brooke Atherton El-Amine.

“She was a leader and a mother herself who saw potential in me when I asked if I could intern there to learn and support what they were doing,” Itani said. “She understood that I couldn’t commit to a full-time job with my kids being so young and decided to take a chance on me.

“At the center, they were combining expert views with student-led initiatives and applying for grants to support the different communities in Lebanon, especially the increasing refugee population.”

She started working on a few projects, but soon found one that would change her academic and career trajectory. The project was centered around supporting refugee girls who were pursuing higher education, especially in STEM.

“It was quite definitive for me because I wanted to continue in public health,” Itani said. “It involved several layers of supporting different social determinants of health to help make that happen.”

She started applying to graduate schools but had to put her dream on hold when a revolution in Lebanon started in the fall of 2019, followed by the collapse of the nation’s financial system. Then, the COVID-19 pandemic hit in early 2020 and later the devastation brought on by the explosion.

Finding herself at Michigan Public Health  

Itani’s husband, who is an American, moved back to the United States, started the immigration process for Itani and their children and, ultimately, found a job as a professor at Eastern Michigan University.

“We started again from nothing and my husband said, ‘It is time to invest in you!’” she said.  

At first, Itani wasn’t sure she should apply to the University of Michigan, but she was encouraged by her husband and mentor. She applied to the Marsal Family School of Education and Michigan Public Health.

“Public health was where my heart was, but most of my skills and experience were in education,” she said “I got into both schools and chose public health. I was tempted again when the education department followed up, asking me to reconsider and that I would get a partial scholarship. That was the moment when I truly had to take a leap of faith.

“Again, my husband encouraged me to take that leap of faith and pursue my passion.”

Itani was nervous and still unsure if she had made the right decision at orientation. Then, Whitney Peoples, director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Michigan Public Health, took the stage to deliver her message: “You belong!”

“I remember feeling goosebumps and keeping her words with me,” Itani said. “I was adamant about two things: One, I will put my all into this and that there is no room for failure. And, two, I will do it my way this time around. I will pour humanity and kindness into it and uplift as many people around me as I can.”

Itani was pleasantly surprised that Michigan Public Health encourages kindness, which stood in stark contrast from her undergraduate experience. 

“I knew I had found myself in the School of Public Health, and I can be me and excel while doing it,” she said. “The professors wanted me to succeed, the students and my friends wanted me to succeed, and I really wanted to succeed. I could not believe my luck that I landed in a space like this.

“I was a new immigrant, and I had no friends or a community yet and I found my people in the professors, staff and students at Michigan Public Health who welcomed me as I am and supported me to be the best version of me.”

Alison Miller, professor of Health Behavior and Health Education, commends Itani for the wealth of talent and compassion she brings to public health. 

“In all of her interactions with me and with our entire research team, Wadad has shown herself to be a steady, kind, thoughtful and intelligent presence,” Miller said. “The quality of her work is excellent, and she is uniquely skilled at inspiring others to do better. I have universally heard similar praise from others, including faculty, students and community partners.”

“I specifically appreciate Dr. Miller’s support throughout my time here,” Itani said. “She truly embodies women and mother empowerment, and I am lucky that we crossed paths. I remember doing my internship interview with her on a snow day on Zoom with my kids appearing in the background. She did not see that as unprofessional or a weakness but was very supportive and took me on.”

Through her public health journey, Itani said she learned an important lesson.

“Leading with your heart is your power,” she said. “Public health is in everything because humans are everywhere and centering humanity at the heart of it all is what makes us special.”

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