Felician University’s Older is Better welcomed His Royal Highness Prince Adnan El-Hashemite on October 15. Prince Adnan, a member of the Hashemite Royal House of Iraq, is a recognized authority figure in global affairs. He is on the faculty of Felician University where he teaches Introduction to the UN: International Relations and Global Affairs and is Felician University’s representative to the UN’s Department of Global Communications. He is also the Executive Director of Global Academic Initiatives at Felician. 

Prince Adnan was warmly received by Older is Better members who were grateful for his generosity of spirit in sharing his life story with them. Prince Adnan spoke of how his father sent his children to different schools around the world to help keep them safe. “Since my grandfather was assassinated by the British and my uncle was assassinated by the British, and my cousin was assassinated by the communists of the Soviet Union, he thought about how he could protect his family as an educator.” Prince Adnan told the 19 seniors who gathered at Obal Hall on the Lodi campus, that his father chose to become an educator rather than a politician, recalling his father’s words that, “The noblest thing you can do in your own life is to be a teacher.”  

Older is Better members were captivated by Prince Adnan’s down to earth approach as he talked about Operation Desert Storm of 1990-91.  It was at this time he says that his father, “did not go back to work because he lost all the businesses he had.” Prince Adnan spoke poignantly of the 25 years he enjoyed living and interacting with his father in his later years saying those years, “gave me a guideline to life, a roadmap to the future, and connected me with history.” 

Former teacher Joan Tabor listened attentively and took notes throughout the presentation saying she found it, “Pretty neat that Felician has a prince on their faculty,” reflecting that, “He made us stop and think and that’s a good thing.”  Pat Zak of Garfield commented that she thought she was hearing things when she learned a prince was to be an Older is Better presenter saying, “He was wonderful and reminded me of my grandparents, with all the traditions, cooking, and sharing. It was absolutely fantastic.” Angela Vitiello of Lodi agreed. “That’s why I come to Older is Better Presentations. I want to learn, be educated, and I wouldn’t know this Prince existed if I wasn’t here today.” 

Prince Adnan who will turn 60 in a few years told the seniors that in the Middle East, “elders are part of your life and your daily routine, they are the wisdom, the ones who really grant us the wisdom.” He wanted to make sure the OIB participants realize their own worth and importance telling them, “What I am trying to say is that without you we have no future.” 

OIB members enjoyed coffee, baklava pastry, and cookies. Older is Better meets Friday afternoons at 1pm in the 2nd Floor Lecture Hall of Obal Hall on the Lodi campus. The nominal $3 attendance fee is being waived for the Fall 2021 semester. If interested in becoming an Older is Better member, contact Bierka Paulino at Paulinob@felician.edu or Aneta Wygonik at Wygonika@felician.edu.