"I can be hurt, but I can't be swayed," journalist and author Mariane Pearl said about her views and beliefs Monday morning, jump starting the beginning of UCF's International Education Week.
Pearl spoke about her personal account of global citizenship, and retold her story of combating violence and promoting humanism and dignity.
Pearl penned "In Search of Hope: The Global Dairies of Mariane Pearl" and "A Mighty Heart: The Brave Life and Death of My Husband Danny Pearl." Her story has also been made into a movie.
At 8:30 Monday morning Pearl visited the Pegasus Ballroom to share her story with UCF students.
When she was young, Pearl began to realize that she did not understand and was ignorant of many things.
"I wanted to become a journalist to explore more identity matters, and to understand what I did not understand," Pearl said.
This determination to have her own understanding of the world, she explained, would later save her.
The crowd listened as Pearl recounted the events that changed her life in 2002.
She was 5-months pregnant when her husband, Daniel Pearl left to meet with a spiritual leader in Pakistan who claimed he would reveal how al-Qaida operated.
Daniel was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, and was trying to understand how al-Qaida operated: why it attracted so many young people, how the members were trained, and what it told its members.
"Because it was dangerous, we would check in every two hours with each other," Pearl said.
When she called him and he didn't answer, Pearl said she knew her husband had fallen into al-Qaida's trap and she knew what they were after.
"I knew very clearly, how terrorists operate. To me, it was very clear that it is all about symbolism and labels…they were looking for someone who would be American, and it was even better that he was Jewish, and was someone who they believed represented America, so he was kidnapped," she said.
Pearl then did everything in her power to try to find her husband.
She said she called the authorities, whom she described as at first being very difficult to work with, because there were so many different agencies involved.
Then, somehow, all the different people working independently of one another came together to try to find Daniel, and to her, these once disjointed people "became a source of hope."
All of her fears were realized when she learned of the news that her husband had been beheaded, and it had been recorded on tape.
Though initially she was filled with anger, and a want for revenge, Pearl said she thought of her husband and how they wanted to promote global citizenship, so adhering to hatred was not the answer.
"I had to do something more difficult…they can't win. These people cannot hijack my beliefs."
Rania Mustafa, a junior in the college of sciences, said she was moved by Pearl's story and attitude.
"Having a Muslim background, I can understand the want to get angry at ignorant people that say terrible things about my religion … her commitment to avoiding that anger is inspiring."
Held in the Pegasus Ballroom, and presented by International Services Center along with the Office of Global Perspectives, preregistered guests had already begun to fill the room before the program's scheduled starting time of 8:30 a.m.
Ambassador Harriet Elam-Thomas acted as the master of ceremonies; she introduced UCF President John Hitt who gave the welcome message to the audience, which represented about 30 different countries.
"Our goal is to provide international focus in UCF's curriculum," Hitt said.
After his short message, the Filipino Student Association performed two dances, followed by the announcing of the Internationalization Awards.
The awards were given to celebrate the accomplishments of faculty and students who are helping UCF become more international and global.
After the awards were distributed, the Columbian Student Association performed two dances followed by Pearls' speech.
Natalay Chandia, the director of ISC, spoke about their goals during International Education Week.
"This year was successful, every year we try to bring in speakers that are inspirational, so people can walk away with wanting more..."
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