Contact: Erika L. Forsythe (304) 766-3363 eforsythe@wvstateu.edu

INSTITUTE, W.Va. – A member of Egypt’s national basketball team will be on the campus of West Virginia State University (WVSU) Friday, Aug. 30, to deliver his inspirational message of “Dream, Believe, Achieve.”
Tekha Tarek Selim will be speaking at 7 p.m. in the theatre of the Davis Fine Arts Building on his personal transformation from an overweight high school student to one of the leading basketball players in his country.
“Tekha’s presentation is so inspiring — no matter what your goal, he will inspire you to succeed by recognizing bad habits and replacing them with good habits,” said Dr. Robin Broughton, Media Studies Graduate Coordinator for WVSU. “He is a joy to hear speak from beginning to end; his story is an incredible testament to what you can do if you put your mind to it.”
The presentation is free and open to the public.
Selim’s dream was to play basketball for Team Egypt, but at more than 100 pounds overweight it seemed like a longshot.
Determined to reach his goal, Selim adopted a personal mantra of “Dream, Believe, Achieve,” and by believing in himself, eating healthy foods and exercising regularly, he was able to lose 144 pounds in 11 months and achieve his dream.
A point guard for Team Egypt, Selim now shares his story with people all over the world and helps motivate them to change their bad habits into good habits.
Selim will be in West Virginia for a week as part of a partnership between the WVSU media studies program and the mass media program of the University of Sharjah (UOS) in the United Arab Emirates. In April, students and faculty from WVSU travelled to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and worked with UOS students on a film together called “#Camels.”
Selim, a student at UOS, appears in the film and during his week in West Virginia will film additional scenes for the movie.
In addition to his talk at WVSU, Selim will also be speaking at other colleges in West Virginia as well as at high schools and middle schools.
For more information, contact Dr. Robin Broughton at (304) 951-7145 or .