Cedarville Stories Podcast: Faithful Daughter Finds a Home at Cedarville
Dalia Aknoukh wanted a biblical education, which led her in a different direction than her culture's expectations.
Starting college is hard for a lot of students, but for Dalia Aknoukh, it was a break from a long-held cultural value.
Dalia’s family is from Egypt. They moved to the United States when she was 5. For Egyptian families, the ties that bind are very strong. It’s common for adult children to stay close to home, especially for daughters. That’s when it became interesting for Dalia, who really wanted to attend a university where the Bible was emphasized and taught through every class. Cedarville, 600 miles from her family home north of New York City, is the place she chose.
Her decision was a hard one for her family to accept, but they eventually saw God’s hand on the choice. When it came time for Dalia’s graduation, her dad listened to Dr. Thomas White, Cedarville’s president, share the good news of hope in Jesus Christ. He realized in an even greater way how right the choice of Cedarville was for his daughter.
Cedarville Fun Facts About Dalia Aknoukh
Dalia earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Cedarville in 2016. After that she enrolled in the physician assistant program at the University of Dayton, about 45 minutes from Cedarville’s campus. Cedarville will launch a physician assistant program of its own in 2022.
Learning and applying the Bible is a big part of what Dalia loved about attending Cedarville. She grew in her faith through the Bible minor, chapel every weekday, and discipleship groups. One of the most memorable chapels for her happened at the last Student Government Association chapel of 2016. All the pews had been removed to prepare for a remodel that summer, but the students were not deterred and filled Jeremiah Chapel from the stage to the back wall.
Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is an accredited, Christ-centered, Baptist institution with an enrollment of 4,380 undergraduate, graduate and online students in more than 150 areas of study. Founded in 1887, Cedarville is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, including the Bachelor of Science in Chemistry program, strong graduation and retention rates, accredited professional and health science offerings and high student engagement ranking. For more information about the University, visit www.cedarville.edu.