Haneen Dajani
Whenever I go out to interview people, I remember the first time I was "interviewed" by a newspaper, or should I say, thought I was going to be interviewed.
A few days after my high school graduation I woke up to find a note posted on our fridge. The note said: "Al Kahleej newspaper, interview at 6 p.m."
I had no idea what this was about so I called my mom and asked for an explanation. She said Al Khaleej newspaper called early in the morning and asked for Haneen Dajani and our address as they were coming over at six. My mom's friend told us they did the same thing with her daughter's friends who were honor graduates: They went to their houses and interviewed them and took picture of them with their families. We figured they probably chose me because the photographer at the graduation took pictures of my report card, "that is where they got the name from and then called the school for our number," we concluded.
As soon as we figured it all out, we frantically began preparing for the interview. We called my dad to come in early from the office, so he'd be with us in the picture. He doubted any of it was actually happening, but he came anyway. I cancelled my daily exercise with my friend because I did not know what time I'd be done with the interview. I also called all my other friends and told them the good news. They were all so excited anticipating seeing my photo and interview in the paper. They also gave me tips on what to wear, say and act.
Half an hour before the interview I sat with my older sister in the guest sitting room. I was wearing my latest formal outfit and we started rehearsing for the interview. I gave long philosophical answers to simple "how did you study and organize your time," type of questions.
Finally, at 6pm sharp the doorbell rang. My younger sister ran inside as she was not dressed yet. My father went to open the door, while me, my mom and older sister waited anxiously on the side.
"I am from al Khaleej Aramex, I have a package for Haneen Dajani from the American University of Sharjah [AUS]," said the man at the door.
My father closed the door and handed me my admission letter to AUS. After laughing for 5 minutes at how foolish we all were, we got back to the plans we had before hearing about the "interview".
Although that particular incident turned out to be publicity-free for me, it was nevertheless an auspicious one as the admission letter I received that day opened many doors for me.
While I was a student of Mass Communication at AUS, I starred in several student films. One of which was chosen as the top 15 films to be screened at the University of Southern California. We flew to Los Angeles for the screening and were featured in a documentary on Al Jazeera International. Appearing in the documentary involved being interviewed several times by Al Jazeera before the trip, during the trip and after.
So, when I come to think of it, although that day held no interview for me, the letter I received lead to much more than a newspaper interview.
The movie was also screened at the Grand Cineplex cinema in Dubai after the trip as part of a special screening of AUS films held in cooperation with the US Embassy.
To watch the film click here.