- Reporters: Shahd Atef & Tia Khalil
- Images Credits: Enigma Magazine & Deezer
- Photographer: Fatma El Sayad
When Professor of Practice at the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication (JRMC) Mervat Abou Oaf first entered the AUC Tahrir Campus as a student in 1986, she had no idea it would shape her future for the next 40 years. Now, she bids farewell to her one and only “home”, as she calls it.
As the youngest of the Abou Oaf family, she grew up well-acquainted with music, theatre and art. These would be the things that shaped her childhood home. This shared passion for art quickly grew into the formation of the 4M, a band that reshaped the Egyptian and Arab music scene in the 1970s and 80s.
In between concerts, sets and recording sessions, Abou Oaf suddenly found herself a high-honors student by day and a pop-star by night.
But the true turning point was when she joined AUC as a Social Sciences major.
“I was lucky enough to have professors who were much more than professors. They were role-models, they care. Caring is all that it takes to be a good professor,” Abou Oaf told The Caravan.
Abou Oaf shared how seeing this passion from her very own professors, namely Dr. Starr, Dr. Younghouse, Dr. Torky and Dr. Kennedy, shaped her love for teaching step-by-step.
It’s a kind of care her students say they felt in her classroom, too.
“Tito always made me feel welcomed and loved,” said Zeina Kamel, who took media law with Abu Oaf last fall. “When I had bad days I usually went to the class only to give her our good morning hug”.
Abu Oaf says graduating from AUC was all due to the professors who were always understanding and lenient with her artistic commitments, aside from being a student.
Wanting to step away from the spotlight after the dissolving of the 4M in the early 1990s, she later found herself returning once more to where it all started, AUC, as a Teaching Assistant (TA).
“My first class was teaching English as a Foreign Language in the Tahrir Campus. I kept looking around, searching for my sisters and brother. What am I doing alone? It was after 12 years of being on stage,” she reminisced.
And her first batch of students definitely shared the same thoughts.
“The students thought that I was rehearsing how to teach because I’m going to play the role of a professor in a film production! And that’s why they were smiling at me all the time,” she said with a light laugh.
But nevertheless, what started with confusion and feeling out of place eventually became what she “fell in love with”, and she soon discovered that teaching is much like performing.
“Ever since then, you (my students) have become my family. I realized that you are the people I’m responsible for. I enjoy it. I love it. It became a mutual relationship between me and you,” she commented.
She then wanted to explore something beyond the rigidity of teaching language, and this is when media came into the picture.
Putting her 4M media background to good use, she completed her Masters of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communications at AUC.
“Everything I knew, I poured it into the classroom. I selected to be a professor just because they told me I’m good at it, but I never expected to fall in love with it this much,” she says.
Years passed, and her passion for teaching remained the same.
“She taught me how to be a great person before being anything as a professional. She taught me ethics, and how to stand for what’s right regardless of if the whole world is against you,” says Sara Seif, former student and adjunct faculty at the JRMC Department.
Abou Oaf’s former and current students of a testament to this passion that she conveyed.
“Her body language, her tone of voice, her expressiveness while speaking. I also love how she is very educated in different aspects and not just media and entertainment. Her experience is evidently shown in the topics she shares with us,” says freshman student Rawan Aboshady.
One of Abou Oaf’s lasting legacies is the JRMC radio studio which she describes as one of her proudest achievements within her chairmanship. With its inauguration in 2013, it still remains one of the most prominent and active facilities within the department.
Mohamed Badawy, senior technical supervisor of the JRMC department, shared that Abou Oaf was the driving force behind the department’s technical facilities and that she even involved her own family for expert support.
“I witnessed firsthand, as my office was next to hers for 11 years, the respect and love that both staff and students showed her. She earned it. She was both an empowering and accessible leader, and she cared,” he added.
Her colleagues echoed this admiration, reflecting on the lasting impact she had on those around her. “The amount of positive energy she spreads wherever she walks in is incredible. She is a wonderful lady, an amazing colleague and an extremely dedicated Professor who is loved, respected and appreciated by all of her students,”said Sahar Sedky, professor of journalism and mass communication.
Alongside the radio studio, she established the photography studio allowing students to match up the theoretical and technical skills, preparing them for the world that lies beyond the university’s bounds.
“One time, it was around 6:30pm, I was in my office and we heard someone say there’s a fire in the photography studio. I got my handbag and started to run to tell security, I wasn’t going to go in and take care of the fire. Typical of Mervat, she went in bare-handed to put the fire out. This was around 2016,” said Naila Hamdy, Associate Dean for Graduate Students and Research.
With every decision, she always kept her students in mind.
“You [my students] always tell me I inspire you, that’s not true, you’re the ones that inspire me,” expressed Abou Oaf with immense gratitude.
But she didn’t stop there, she worked toward bettering adjunct professors’ experience, lessening the gap that exists between them and full time professors.
“They signed year-long contracts, and their IDs included their title as adjunct professors, as well as establishing a faculty handbook for adjuncts,” explained Abou Oaf.
With her tenure as chair ended in 2014, the basis of her accomplishments are still being integrated to this day.
But after nearly four decades at AUC, Abou Oaf felt it was time for something new.
She accepted the position of Dean at another academic institution in Cairo and is set to start in September 2025.
“I told them my only condition is that I want to teach. They asked me why? This job doesn’t entail teaching. But, this was my condition.”
For Abou Oaf, teaching was never just a job. It was about the relationship with the students.
“People stopped listening to students. A lot of the time when I see people speaking with you guys [students]..I see them preparing their response. They’re not actually listening. That’s it,” she said.
This commitment to truly hearing her students remained at the heart of everything she did. “I cannot claim that I’m special. The whole idea is that I seriously care for you. I learn a lot from you. I listen,” she added.
That’s why, to her, it’s a very serious concern when professors stop prioritizing their students.
Abou Oaf added that this was not uncommon, acknowledging that during her time as chair, it was likely that some people disagreed with her decisions. “There’s no right or wrong, it’s a matter of perspective,” she said.
But amidst the challenge, opportunity came knocking in the form of the new dean position offer.
“They’ve been pursuing [me] for the last four or five months, and we see eye to eye,” she said, smiling.
And in an unexpected full-circle moment, during her visit to the new institution, she discovered that many of the faculty members there were once her students at AUC.
“It was such a thrill. I’m happy it’s you guys… It felt like home,” she added, her eyes slowly welling up.
And even as she prepares to leave, one thing remains unchanged: her loyalty to AUC.
“I love AUC. My loyalty goes to AUC. If they ever need me for whatever reason, I’ll be there. That’s what I told the Provost.”
