A Cultural Connection

Grape leaves, language, and UND link one Lebanese student to another. 

On her second day as a student intern at The Hilyard Center  (formerly Student Diversity & Inclusion), Raneem Kobeissy was surrounded by old yearbooks. Her mission was to find answers to the question she brought up the previous day: “Who was the first person of Color to graduate from UND?”

Raneem, who had moved to Grand Forks from the Middle East two years prior on her uncle’s advice to enroll in UND’s acclaimed speech-language pathology program, had yet to meet another Lebanese student or alum.  

For weeks, Raneem and a team from The Hilyard Center sifted through the annuals’ worn pages, searching for clues. Then, one day, Raneem discovered a portrait with familiar features. The name beneath it read, “Thomas Boutrous.”

“I thought, ‘Boutrous. That’s a very Lebanese last name.’ I immediately knew.” Raneem recalled the discovery of a family that would greatly impact her UND experience. 

What began as a research project in the Chester Fritz Library evolved into planning Empowered by Our Past, a March 2024 event honoring the first students of Color at UND and recognizing the diversity of the University’s history. Raneem and fellow students presented 12 narratives, concluding with that of Raneem’s newfound heroine, Sylvia (Boutrous) Trent, ’55, sister of Thomas Boutrous.

A Peek Back in Time

The Boutrouses were active participants in the University community and pursued careers in medicine, law, and (Sylvia) speech-language pathology.

Sylvia passed away in 2020, but that didn’t diminish Raneem’s sense of connection with UND’s first female Lebanese student.

“It was amazing to find out we had the same major,” she said. “I feel like I’m walking in her shoes here.”

The Empowered by Our Past event also gave Raneem the opportunity to meet Sylvia’s daughters, Patti Myers and Debbie Trent. The sisters participated in a panel discussion and explored their mother’s alma mater, starting with the former Tri Delta sorority house, a central part of Sylvia’s college experience. 

“I felt a special connection even opening the front door,” Patti recalled. 

They also visited the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections where Raneem discovered the Boutrouses. They were delighted to find their mother’s image on the 1955 “Who’s Who” listing of notable seniors. The extent of Sylvia’s involvement was deeper than her daughters realized and included titles like sorority pledge-class president and secretary/treasurer of the Women’s Glee Club.

It was amazing to find out we had the same major. I feel like I’m walking in her shoes here.Raneem Kobeissy, '25Speech-Language Pathology Major

Of Grape Leaf Fame

Sylvia and her brothers’ desire to contribute to their UND community was instilled by their parents, Attas and Della Boutrous, who homesteaded in Bismarck in the early 1900s. They opened a grocery store, earning respect for their entrepreneurship and their Lebanese cuisine, including Della’s renowned stuffed grape leaves recipe that was published in the Bismarck Tribune. 

Raneem, who shares an appetite for the grape leaf dish, could relate: “I love sharing our culture and our food. … I found the newspaper clipping and thought, ‘Yep, this is so Lebanese – to share a favorite recipe like that.’”

Financial constraints limited college to only four of the eight Boutrous children; Sylvia was eager to be in the count. 

“She wanted to work; she wanted to explore and have her own life,” Debbie said. “UND was, as it is for many, a door to go through and experience a threshold for a different kind of life.”

Sylvia put her degree to work in elementary schools before stepping back to raise her family, adhering to her mantra, “family first.”

“That stuck with me. That sacrifice, to let go of something you love for your kids, is huge,” said Raneem, noting the deep affection Sylvia’s daughters, in turn, shared for their mom. 

Though Sylvia lived far from North Dakota later in life, her children remember their mother’s strong affiliation with her alma mater. She maintained lifelong friendships with sorority sisters and advised nieces and nephews who attended UND (in total, 15 Boutrous kin have graduated from UND since 1930, the most recent in 2020).

UND Mom

Needing emergency surgery, Sylvia couldn’t attend her graduation or receive her diploma. With the help of UND’s registrar, her husband, Chester, secretly procured the diploma and staged a mock graduation ceremony for her 80th birthday. 

“She was really surprised, and it was such a wonderful thing that Dad did,” Patti explained. “Debbie wore her doctoral gear to present the diploma, and Dad played ‘Pomp and Circumstance.’”

Before leaving campus, Debbie and Patti purchased “UND Mom” bumper stickers. To the Boutrous sisters, it’s a stamp of pride for their mother, a UND alumna who never lost her connection to her alma mater – a connection that continues for Lebanese students today.

Empowered by Our Past

Thomas Boutrous, brother of Sylvia Boutrous, is one of the Noble Nine, the first students of Color at UND, honored on campus last year. The Hilyard Center continues to commemorate this group through the Empowered by Our Past initiative.

Noble Nine

First Nine Students of Color to Attend UND

• Hilyard James Duty: Graduated 1900, Bachelor of Arts
• Takeo Igawa: Graduated 1913, Engineering and Mining
• Min Hin Li: Graduated 1920, Bachelor of Arts Special in Medicine
• Tuan Sheng Chien: Graduated 1920, Bachelor of Arts
• Azzie Z. Tucker: Graduated 1925, Bachelor of Science in Arts and Medicine
• Era Bell Thompson: Matriculated 1925, College of Arts
• Edna Yuki Tetsoka: Graduated 1933, Bachelor of Arts
• Clarissa Benjamin: Graduated 1935, Bachelor of Science in Education-Physical Education
• Thomas Boutrous: Graduated 1934, Bachelor of Arts; graduated 1935, School of Medicine