Arabic teacher Eyad Oqlat will not be returning to SLUH next year due to family commitments. 

It has been a hard year for Oqlat, who had to alternate between being fully online and in person due to family matters. 

“It was challenging to have prepared lesson plans and face-to-face evaluating of the students to see where they were at being online,” said Oqlat.

Despite this, Oqlat managed to find ways to positively influence his students. 

“Mr. Oqlat worked really hard to get his students the opportunity to speak Arabic with teenagers from the Arab world,” said junior Arabic student Luke Pierson. “This was an extremely awesome experience and one that I think will most likely continue after he leaves SLUH since it has left such an impact on all his students and how we learn Arabic.”

Oqlat himself found the experience very rewarding. 

“Everyone was working for one purpose and made it a very friendly atmosphere,” said Oqlat. “I really enjoyed working here.” 

His students could sense the passion he had for his job. 

“I’ll miss how passionate he was about the beauty of the language,” said Pierson. “We worked a lot with poetry this year and it was wonderful just digging into the beauty of the language.”

Part of the reason for the positive atmosphere were some of his colleagues who helped make his time special. 

“Jim Linhears was the most sweet and supportive person and helped with whatever I might need,” said Oqlat. “Kate (Toussaint) the department chair was also so sweet and so helpful.” 

Oqlat transitioned to private education after a long tenure in public education. 

“I’ve been working in public schools for a long time and this was the first private school I’ve ever taught at,” said Oqlat. “I cherish the time I’ve spent here with all the students and staff and hope to find a place like this in the future.” 

His plans for next year include pursuing a Ph.D in Arabic studies. While Oqlat will be gone, his influence will remain with many of his students for years to come.

“I’ll remember how much he pushed us as a class to be better,” said Pierson.