{"id":111341,"date":"2020-07-24T16:56:16","date_gmt":"2020-07-24T20:56:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341//?p=111341"},"modified":"2026-05-08T11:01:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T15:01:30","slug":"graduating-senior-escaped-a-civil-war-in-syria-to-become-a-scholar-at-ucf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341///news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341//www.ucf.edu/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341//news/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341//graduating-senior-escaped-a-civil-war-in-syria-to-become-a-scholar-at-ucf/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341//","title":{"rendered":"Graduating Senior Escaped a Civil War in Syria to Become a Scholar at UCF"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up in war-torn Syria, Suzanne Chaar saw first-hand the impact that medical professionals can have on a society./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/n

During the country/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u2019s civil war, she witnessed her father, a pharmacist, and her brother, then a medical student at the 海角直播 of Aleppo, provide care for civilians impacted by the conflict. Chaar says she admired their bravery and felt pride in their contributions to the people of Syria. They inspired, in part, her aspirations to be a physician, serving patients across the globe./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u201cThere is something uniquely special about the field of medicine,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u201d says Chaar, a Burnett Honors Scholar who will receive a bachelor/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u2019s degree in health sciences during this weekend/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u2019s Summer 2020 Virtual Commencement. /news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u201cEvery day you have an opportunity to make a meaningful impact in someone/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u2019s life. That speaks to me./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u201d/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/n

While studying at UCF, Chaar earned her certified nursing assistant certification while surrounded by university professionals who see in her all of the qualities of a great doctor./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u201cSuzanne is the definition of an altruistic leader. She goes out of her way to help others, and I think that is an important quality, one that we would all like our physicians to have,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u201d says Erin Myszkowski, director of UCF/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u2019s Pre-Health and Pre-Law Advising Office, who has been both an advisor and a mentor to Chaar./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/n

Since coming to UCF through the DirectConnect to UCF program in the Summer 2018 semester, Chaar has been recognized with numerous awards and distinctions. She was the recipient of a UCF Burnett Honors College Scholarship for her scholastic performance in the Honors Undergraduate Thesis Program, where she examined the cardiovascular outcomes in nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke. She has also earned an American Association of 海角直播 Women Scholarship, an Outstanding Achievement Award in STEM, and an Outstanding Academic Award in Chemistry. Additionally, Chaar was the student speaker for Lake Sumter State College/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u2019s Spring 2018 Commencement./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/n

But she would never have come to the U.S. if not for a threat./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/n

For the first two years of the conflict, Chaar/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u2019s family endured through the uncertainties of living within a country at war. The proverbial final straw came in the form of a menacing note, pinned to the front door of the family/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u2019s home. Among other threats, the note expressed an intention to kidnap the Chaar children for ransom and burn down the family/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u2019s pharmacy business./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/n

/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u201cI don/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u2019t think we/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u2019ll ever know who sent that note or how serious their threats were. However, we knew that they knew where we lived. I can/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u2019t tell you how unsettling that fact was,/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u201d says Chaar, who recalls her father beginning immediate preparations to relocate the family to the United States, where he had attended graduate school and had obtained American citizenship./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/n

Moving to Central Florida as a high school freshman, Chaar did not know a word of English and had little familiarity with American culture. It would take her more than two years to become fluent and feel comfortable around her peers, an obstacle that she describes as her life/news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/u2019s most challenging./news/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/111341/n