Shahri Estakhry Day in San Diego
Congratulations to Ms. Shahri Estakhry and the Iranian American Community of San Diego
The Mayor and the Council of the City of San Diego proclaim May 16, 2023, to be “Shahri Estakhry Day” in the City of San Diego.
Here is the text of the proclamation:
Proclamation of the City Council
City of San Diego
Shahri Estakhry Day
Presented by Councilmember Raul A. Campillo
May 16, 2023
WHEREAS, Ms. Shahrbanou “Shahri” Estakhry was born in Shiraz, Iran in 1942, came to the United States at the age of 13, and served with her husband in diplomatic relations in different parts of the world before returning once again to the United States in 1981; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Estakhry founded the Iranian School of San Diego where for more than three decades children have connected with their heritage through language, dance and theater classes, and families have formed lifelong friendship; and
WHEREAS Ms. Estakhry cofounded the Iranian-American Scholarship Fund over 25 years ago, which has so far provided 369 scholarships to students of Iranian heritage nationwide; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Estakhry has made it her life’s passion to foster human understanding through the promotion of arts and culture and over 30 years ago cofounded the Persian Cultural Center of San Diego, known to this day for its arts and culture programming and cross-cultural outreach; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Estakhry was instrumental in the creation of the Arts of Iran gallery at the San Diego Museum of Art, preserving for future generations the beauty, intellect, and wisdom of thousands of years of Persian art; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Estakhry believes every child deserves a place at the table of humanity and founded the Dollar-a-Month Fund in support of health, nutrition, and education efforts for thousands of children on four continents; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Estakhry has been a strong voice for universal human rights; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Estakhry spearheaded a successful international campaign at the United Nations for the official recognition of Nowruz—the first day of Spring celebrated for more than 3,000 years as the beginning of the new year by over 300 million people around the world in the Middle East, Balkans, Central Asia, and other regions; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Estakhry celebrates her birthday on May 16th; and
WHEREAS, the poet Rumi once wrote: “do a good deed and throw it in the river; one day it will come back to you in the desert,” Ms. Estakhry has promoted public service and preservation of community ties for her whole life, asking for nothing in return, and in return is recognized as the godmother of the Persian community and culture in San Diego; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT PROCLAIMED, by the Mayor and the Council of the City of San Diego, that this Council, for and on behalf of the people of San Diego, does hereby proclaim May 16, 2023, to be “Shahri Estakhry Day” in the City of San Diego.
Alireza Ghaem, ISSD graduate, 6 years as an ISSD teaching assistant and PCC Youth Committee member, graduated from high school. He will attend the University of California San Diego, pursuing a major in Human Biology with the hopes of becoming a physician and further helping the community.
Anita Taha, ISSD graduate and teaching assistant, and Secretary of the Youth Committee, graduated from Del Norte High School and will be attending UC Santa Cruz as a Cognitive Science major.
Adreen Fazel, ISSD graduate, several years as an ISSD teaching assistant and Youth Committee member, graduated from high school and will be attending Cal Poly Pomona. He will be majoring in Civil Engineering.
Omid Fouladpouri, ISSD graduate, graduated from Canyon Crest Academy on June 2, 2023. He will be attending UC Irvine this fall.
Nusheen Baradaran
“Did you know she was coming to Persian School before she could even walk and talk?” – Mr. Ali Sadr.
I have been coming to the Iranian School of San Diego since I was in a stroller—a time when Persian school was at Standley Middle School and when Peyk was a couple black and white pages—without me even knowing that the Persian School and the Persian community would become my second home and family. Learning about my culture through Farsi classes, being a teaching assistant, music, dance, and, most memorable, theater, I was able to connect with my culture. Not to mention Mr. Ali Sadr’s Leadership class, where I gained a more in-depth understanding of being part of the Iranian American spectrum.
Last month, I graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering where I was able to once again use the history of my motherland to further my understanding of Science and Engineering through research. I eventually want to continue in the field of Geotechnical Engineering, a branch of Civil Engineering.
Sara & Seena Zabihi
ISSD graduates, teaching assistants, Theater and Dance Academy students, Sara and Seena Zabihi each celebrated their graduations in May.
Sara graduated with an M.S. in International Development and Data Analytics from New York University (NYU) and plans to continue working and living in New York.
Seena graduated with a B.A. in Economics from UC Berkeley and will be moving to San Diego while exploring new opportunities in the financial sector.
Pardis Mahdavi becomes the 19th President of the University of La Verne
The University of La Verne Board of Trustees recently announced the selection of Pardis Mahdavi, PhD, as the university’s 19th president. She will assume the presidency on August 15, 2023.
Mahdavi brings more than 20 years of scholarship, experience, and leadership in higher education. She most recently served as the provost and executive vice president at the University of Montana, a public flagship research university in Missoula. For more information, please go to:
https://laverne.edu/news/2023/06/06/university-of-la-verne-names-19th-president/
Dr. Mahdavi is an ISSD alumni.
Hana Julazadeh
My experience with the Iranian School of San Diego has been one that I will always cherish. From a young age, I started attending Persian school and enjoyed it so much that I chose to volunteer as a teaching assistant for 5 more years. Overall, my experience with this program really helped connect me with my Iranian culture, which was especially important for me as someone who is mixed race. I am especially grateful for the fact that I am now able to speak in my grandparents’ first language, allowing me to communicate with them with more nuance than I would have been able to if I just spoke English. Overall, attending Iranian school taught me so much more than just Farsi—it taught me about my heritage and showed me the determination and passion that I would need to graduate not just from ISSD, but also from university.
Last month, I graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis in Bioengineering. During my time at SDSU, I had an internship with Pfizer during the height of the pandemic and was a research assistant in the Rohwer Lab at SDSU working on microbiology and bacteriophage research. Both of these incredible experiences helped me realize that although I really liked engineering, my true passion and field of interest is biology.
A week after graduation, I started as a research associate at a drug development company, where I will have the opportunity to learn more about the career path that I love and, ideally, work towards creating medications for different sorts of illnesses and diseases. I hope to use the lessons that I learned in Farsi school to help me pursue graduate education and overcome any and all obstacles that my career and life present me in the future.
Firouz Naderi
On June 9, 2023, we received the shocking news that Iranian American scientist Dr. Firouz Naderi passed away at the age of 77, likely as result of a recent injury that left him paralyzed. Born in Shiraz, after completing his elementary and high school education, Dr. Naderi continued his education in Italy, followed by a degree in electrical engineering from Iowa State in the U.S. He received his masters and PhD from the University of South Carolina.
Dr. Naderi was the Jet Propulsion Laboratory expert in the esteemed organization of NASA for 36 years. He contributed in technical and executive positions to America’s iconic robotic space missions, including unmanned projects to outer space, leading the Mars Program as manager for five years. This earned him the prestigious “NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal.”
Dr. Naderi brought a great deal of pride to our community, and he will be missed tremendously. On behalf of all of us Shirazis: “Thank you, Firouz jan, you made us proud and we honor you and thank you for your everlasting contributions, as well as your compassion for humanity.”
May you rest in peace.
-Shahri Estakhry
