UMASS Touched by death in Iraq
AMHERST - When he was a doctoral student at the University of Massachusetts, Ayman Taha dedicated himself to someday improving economic conditions in his native Africa.
That dream came to an end last Friday when Taha, 31, died in an explosion in Iraq, where he had gone to serve as a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces.
Although he left UMass in 2002, putting what he felt was his patriotic duty before his career, Taha was remembered yesterday as a peaceful man whose quiet demeanor masked his passion for both learning and teaching.
"He was one of my best students, a very energetic man," said Leonce Ndikumana, an associate professor of economics who taught a macro-economics course that Taha took.
"He wanted to do economic development and had a dedication to learn and practice it when he got out of school," Ndikumana said.
UMass Chancellor John Lombardi offered the university's condolences to Taha's family and friends.
"We received the news of Ayman Taha's tragic death with great sadness," Lombardi said in a prepared statement. "While large international events produce a wide range of opinion, the loss of one of our own unites us in sorrow."
Born in Sudan, Taha was raised in northern Virginia by parents who both hold doctorates, according to The Washington Post, which reported Taha's death on Wednesday. Abdel-Rahman Taha, his father, worked for the World Bank.
Taha attended secondary school in England and earned his bachelor's degree at the University of California at Berkeley before doing his graduate work at UMass. He received his master's degree in economics from UMass and was working on his doctorate when he left the school. Taha spoke English, Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese.
Taha's hiatus from academia came after he was involved in a fatal accident involving another UMass student. Lisa Mantia, 19, was killed when the motorcycle on which she was a passenger collided with Taha's car on Route 116 in September 2000. Ndikumana said Taha spent hours talking to him about the incident.
"He was very disturbed by the accident," Ndikumana said. "Legally he was cleared, but he thought about it a lot and felt very sad that it happened."
According to the Pentagon, Taha was preparing a cache of munitions for demolition in the town of Balad Friday when the explosives detonated.
In addition to his studies, Taha was Ndikumana's teaching assistant for a course on finance and banking, earning the trust of respect of his class.
"The students liked him a lot because he was approachable and knew what he was doing," Ndikumana said.
The professor said he was surprised when Taha joined the Army.
"People don't usually join the military from Ph.D. programs," he said. "He was a very peaceful person."
By FRED CONTRADA
The Republican
fcontrada@repub.com
Friday, January 06, 2006
That dream came to an end last Friday when Taha, 31, died in an explosion in Iraq, where he had gone to serve as a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces.
Although he left UMass in 2002, putting what he felt was his patriotic duty before his career, Taha was remembered yesterday as a peaceful man whose quiet demeanor masked his passion for both learning and teaching.
"He was one of my best students, a very energetic man," said Leonce Ndikumana, an associate professor of economics who taught a macro-economics course that Taha took.
"He wanted to do economic development and had a dedication to learn and practice it when he got out of school," Ndikumana said.
UMass Chancellor John Lombardi offered the university's condolences to Taha's family and friends.
"We received the news of Ayman Taha's tragic death with great sadness," Lombardi said in a prepared statement. "While large international events produce a wide range of opinion, the loss of one of our own unites us in sorrow."
Born in Sudan, Taha was raised in northern Virginia by parents who both hold doctorates, according to The Washington Post, which reported Taha's death on Wednesday. Abdel-Rahman Taha, his father, worked for the World Bank.
Taha attended secondary school in England and earned his bachelor's degree at the University of California at Berkeley before doing his graduate work at UMass. He received his master's degree in economics from UMass and was working on his doctorate when he left the school. Taha spoke English, Arabic, Spanish and Portuguese.
Taha's hiatus from academia came after he was involved in a fatal accident involving another UMass student. Lisa Mantia, 19, was killed when the motorcycle on which she was a passenger collided with Taha's car on Route 116 in September 2000. Ndikumana said Taha spent hours talking to him about the incident.
"He was very disturbed by the accident," Ndikumana said. "Legally he was cleared, but he thought about it a lot and felt very sad that it happened."
According to the Pentagon, Taha was preparing a cache of munitions for demolition in the town of Balad Friday when the explosives detonated.
In addition to his studies, Taha was Ndikumana's teaching assistant for a course on finance and banking, earning the trust of respect of his class.
"The students liked him a lot because he was approachable and knew what he was doing," Ndikumana said.
The professor said he was surprised when Taha joined the Army.
"People don't usually join the military from Ph.D. programs," he said. "He was a very peaceful person."
By FRED CONTRADA
The Republican
fcontrada@repub.com
Friday, January 06, 2006
posted by Unknown @ 7:19 PM
1 Comments:
At 6/2/11 9:42 PM,
Anonymous said…
LISA WAS THE MOST AMAZING LOVING AND MY BEST FRIEND SHE WOULD BE TOUCHED BY WHAT HE DID IN IRAQ BOTH OF THEM ARE IN A PLACE OF PEACE AND ARE FREE FROM ANY PAIN OR REGRET!!! I KNOW LISA WAS THERE THE MOMENT HE PASSED OVER AND HELPED HIM REALIZE THAT EVEN TRHOUGH ALL THE PAIN AND GUILT FROM BEING A PART OF THAT ACCIDENT HE WAS A HERO AND PART OF A BIGGER PLAN. GOD BLESS YOU!!!
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