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Photo by Reed Hutchinson
UCLA Photographic Services
"My involvement with Staff Assembly is a way of giving
back to the campus," says President Hassan Ghamlouch." |
New prez starts out with a bang
BY WENDY SODERBURG
UCLA Today StafF
After Hassan Ghamlouch’s best friend spent a summer in Los
Angeles in 1984, he went home to Beirut, Lebanon, and convinced
his pal to return to California with him.
“He told me, ‘Oh, it’s a beautiful place. We
have to go,’ ” said Ghamlouch, this year’s Staff
Assembly president and general manager of the UCLA Guest House.
“So we got our visas and worked most of the summer to save
money.”
Not enough money, as it turned out. Ghamlouch and his friend had
to scrap their original plans to take English classes at Cal State
Los Angeles because it was too expensive. They finally enrolled
at East L.A. College and took two years’ worth of general
education courses. When it came time to transfer, Ghamlouch applied
to several schools, including UCLA.
As luck would have it, UCLA was the first school to send an acceptance
letter to Ghamlouch. “I didn’t even bother to open the
other letters. My heart was set on going to UCLA,” he said,
laughing.
Ghamlouch would be the first to declare his gratitude to UCLA for
giving him an education and a job he loves, but UCLA has benefited
from his presence as well. His first order of business as president
of Staff Assembly was overseeing the first annual and highly successful
All-Staff Picnic last July, which he says was a happy start to his
tenure.
“You can count on the picnic again next year,” he promised,
along with all of the events Staff Assembly is known for, including
the “Learn-at-Lunch” series, Town Hall meetings with
Chancellor Albert Carnesale, the Small Business Fair, the staff
and faculty football tailgate party at the Rose Bowl and the hugely
popular Casino Night. Staff Assembly also launched its redesigned
Web site (http://uclasa.chr.ucla.edu).
“Staff Assembly is dear to my heart,” Ghamlouch said.
“It’s the most important volunteer work that I do.”
Working at the Guest House turned out to be a perfect fit for the
young man who spoke no English when he came to this country 19 years
ago. Although he majored in history, Ghamlouch showed an early flair
for hotel management. He kept up a killer schedule, working full-time
at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles while going to
UCLA part-time.
After graduating in 1995, Ghamlouch served as residence hall manager
at Hedrick Hall and later as area manager for Hedrick and Sproul
halls and Sunset Village. In April, he took over as general manager
of the 61-room Guest House, where he has already launched a flurry
of new projects, including installing a new phone system, replacing
all the carpets, bedspreads and curtains, and renovating the bathrooms.
On the weekends, Ghamlouch works at the farm he co-owns with his
wife, Deborah, and her father. Called The Grove, the 10-acre property
in Riverside grows organic produce, including avocados, oranges,
lemons, kumquats and loquats.
“I’m the kind of person who’s always busy,”
Ghamlouch said. “If I can’t stay busy, I’ll go
crazy.”
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