INTERVIEWER: MAHMOUD MANSI
1- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: As a Media student, what are your entrepreneurial comments regarding the media industry in Egypt?
Malak Diwan: Well, as you know I minor in media, but I major I language and Translation, which offers me an abundance of information, insight, and tolerance towards other. We told at college that we study literary figures in order to grasp the innermost conflict of their psyche and learn of their motives, rather than criticize and judge them. The media nowadays lack that kind of tolerance; it has become polarized in such a way that dehumanizes the subjects of its discussions. The criterion for an intelligent host and immaculate production is now based on the amount of scandals they can extricate from an episode. Appearances, studio sizes, and pretenses now sell very well. The media industry seized to be a form of communicative art that seeks enlightenment, entertainment, and guidance. Now it is mostly a vindictive industry, which implements suffering, scandals, rumors, and othering of opponents to reach its goal.
2- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What do you want to work when you graduate? What is your plan B if you did not find your dream job?
Malak Diwan: I hope that when I graduate I’d be considered for college teaching. I’ve always adored the idea of spending my life acquiring knowledge and passing it on; to delve into the concept of the never ending pursuits of truth in the literary reflection of our human nature. That nature that, although develops in the path of enlightenment, exhibits emotional and ethical consistency. When I was I kid I was always the loner. Reading the English novels my family had in the main library gave me companionship; an escape from loneliness. So I do like teaching English, teaching words that saved my life, and perhaps, would save someone else’s; I like the idea of offering others the same escape I was offered. And if I wasn’t lucky enough to get the job, then I’d love to consider a career in publishing. It’s the next best thing.
3- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: As the recent president of the CLC (College of Language and Communication AASTMT) student union, what are your plans to serve the students and departments?
Malak Diwan: Before I got appointed student union president I offered the student body an intensive program that we are to follow, given I win the elections. I started my program with creating clubs and Committees that would facilitate the organization of events, as well as, encompass extracurricular activities. So I proposed a book club, an acting club, an organizing club, and a photography club. Then, I moved to the scholastic student aid programs, proposing a student oriented and directed tutoring system that gets former students of a given course to provide necessary assistance to the students currently undertaking it; the kind of assistance only a student could provide. Then there’s the Senior Counseling, where an older student gets assigned freshmen in order to help them adapt. As for trainings and internships, I proposed to offer Alexandrian establishments a mutualistic deal. So, say, we approach a publishing house. We could offer that they run a competition of a chapter analysis among those interested in our language specialized students. They choose ten to work as interns, for free, for two months in return for a certificate to each of the interns. They get the extra free work, and we get the certified internships and experience. I also thought that providing more Career Field Visits, as well as, participating in Community Service activities, such as; Organizing Donation events. And a cause supporting Brochure Committee, would benefit the student body.
4- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Who is your favorite teacher and why?
Malak Diwan: My favourite teacher is my mother. Even though we would never admit it, we are so much alike. She is a very strong and domineering woman who taught me how to work, think, function, and rule over my life. She is the reason I am the person I am today.
5- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Apart from university, how are you self-developing yourself?
Malak Diwan: I try to read more about humanistic sciences, theories and philosophies. Psychology appeals to me the extent I keep reading book after book. I also try to perfect my writing skills, and establish myself as a writer. So I keep applying to write articles everywhere. So far I have written two articles for a college magazine, one article in Al-Ahram weekly, which got a published, covering a quarter of the page, and an article for the Sporting Club Magazine that is to be published soon. I also attempt to keep reading literary works that would deepen my understanding with different literary eras and their characteristics.
6- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: If you are a teacher in your department, what kind of ideas, activities and teaching methods would you apply?
Malak Diwan: If I am a teacher in my department, I’d employ pretty much the same tools my professors use with us in class. The student oriented discussions that create a space for every student to openly express him/herself in front of others become, after a while a motivation to learn and prove themselves as productive individuals. The discussions that end with every one receiving a healthy portion of praise and recognition build up the characters of the students who had only learned throughout their previous educational experience how to give the answer that appeals to others and erase any indication of an individualistic identity. Trust me, it doesn’t get any better than that.
7- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What is the least important subject you are studying?
Malak Diwan: No one can decide upon a least important subject, since he would be denoting that all the sciences, theories and thoughts of the pioneers that underline it are inconsequential. Every piece of information matters, no matter its significance to your major. And so I always try to absorb as much knowledge as I possibly can and implement it in other areas of life.
8- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: You are currently working on writing your first novel. Why have you taken this decision? Do you think that publishing your own book can help you in your future career?
Malak Diwan: Yes I am. It wasn’t as much of a decision as it was a spur of the moment. All my life, I have been listening to elderly members of my family telling me their life stories and those of the people around them. They all agreed that there is a sense of relief in telling another person their utmost secrets, desires, and fears. For most of them, I was the only one who knew of these things. I was sitting one day and I realized that by my death their stories would end. If I seize to exist, so do they. So I decided I needed to get as much people as possible to know of their lives , as well as, my hidden identity as a bearer of the lives of theirs; Hence, the novel. I don’t think it would benefit my career, since publishing novels scarcely gets writers anywhere; however, I’m willing to give my passion a shot and see where it takes me.
9- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Let’s assume that you were not a student in the Media department and you had a totally different educational path, yet you wanted to be a journalist for instance. How would you self-educate yourself to be one?
Malak Diwan: I would do what any person in my generation should; I’d surf the internet. Many websites offer insight on the hows and whys of media. I would read those, fond books concerning media and its theories, and then begin to check templates of published work and imitate it until I create my preferred style with my personal touches. Once I am positive I have the hang of it, I’d look for internships, workshops and such. These would give me a true realization of how things are truly in the professional world, along with, implementing me with enough knowledge and connections to know where to begin.
10- HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: What is your comment regarding unemployment in Egypt? And what suggested solutions would you have?
Malak Diwan: Unemployment is one of the issues that manifest every nation and frightens its youth the most. We all fear that no matter how much we try and achieve something of ourselves, we’d end up not having a chance to self-actualize in a highly competitive and overcrowded world. These thoughts are very depressive to us all. I truly cannot provide a solution to unemployment; it’s not a game one can ever master, when its rules are so intricate and shady. Providing the game plan is out of my league.
HR Revolution Middle-East Magazine: Thank you so much Ms. Malak for you time and for sharing your great plans with us.
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