In a crowded library on the campus of Oakland University sits a young man who just finished a business scholars case competition. His team placed second.
“It’s not first,” he says, disappointed.
Jousef Shkoukani is a 21-year-old accounting major. He is the Vice President of Student’s for Orphan Relief, Board Member of Students for Justice in Palestine, and he works in Advanced Purchasing at Continental Automotive Group.
His friends call him Joey, and Joey doesn’t have time to wallow.
Before his frustration with the case competition, he met with a team that is going to be helping him with his bid for OU Student Body Vice President. He’ll be campaigning until around the time of his birthday in March.
Running the campaign is going to be expensive.
“I feel bad asking for money for myself, when I already fundraise so much for orphan relief,” he said.
So, he’ll be funding it out-of-pocket.
With orphan relief, Joey and his team raise funds to help provide education for orphans in Ghana. Last year, the group raised $10,000, sending 23 students to school. They want to double those figures this year.
“Our mission here is education,” he says. “We have other orphan reliefs [at OU] that are focused on health and nutrition, but we’re focused on education, because we feel that health and nutrition are only Band-Aids to their problems.”
The day began for him at 6 a.m. It’s getting close to night. He is sitting there in his navy-blue suit, drinking an Aquafina and thinking about how he still needs to study and go to the gym before the day is over.
Joey always begins that early. He gets to the gym by 6:30 for an hour-long workout. He arrives at Continental just before 9, out at 4, and in class by 5, which doesn’t let out until nearly 10.
Every day is a long day for Joey.
“He’s a very hardworking person,” says Nasser Mawry, a longtime friend. “Every morning, I get a snap of him going to the gym.”
Photo courtesy of The Oakland Post
Joey’s motivation comes to him naturally.
He is the middle child of an immigrant father, Midhet, from Palestine, who moved to the U.S. at 18 years old. When his father arrived, he did not know a word of English, and he had to live with his brothers. He worked three jobs, nearing 100 hours per week, including one as a busboy.
The restaurant promoted Midhet to cook, where he met Joey’s mother, Deanna. The two fell in love despite the apprehension from their families. Midhet was a devout Muslim, and Deanna a Catholic.
“There was definitely a barrier growing up with different ideologies,” Joey says.
Religious tension proved too difficult, and Joey became a child of divorce while in the 2nd grade.
He stayed intensely close with his mother and father. Deanna was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, but “things are looking more positive for her,” Joey says. “She’s feeling better, and she’s back at the gym.”
Midhet continued to thrive professionally and began working as a machinist for Smith Bros Tools, where he was promoted to manager shortly after. During the 2008 housing collapse, Midhet bought properties to rent out to tenants. He now owns 30 houses.
“I learned a lot about housing and business with him,” Joey says. “He is the American dream.”
Joey followed his father in beliefs and practices Islam. His engagement in politics grew in the last election cycle.
“Take out all the social issues, and I’m okay with Trump,” he says. “Other than that, I hate everything that comes out of his mouth.”
On January 30th, Joey and a group of friends protested the president’s executive order on immigration at Detroit Metropolitan Airport.
“I think first and foremost, you’ve got to think about the people,” Joey says. “Trump targets people and thinks some don’t belong here.”
After graduation, Joey plans on getting his master’s degree in finance, then heading to law school and starting a non-profit helping those in poverty. Joey wants to become a U.S. Senator, and he plans to run a humanitarian platform.
Right now, he has to get to the gym.