Classmates of Waleed at HBS
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* Sure am sorry it takes a tragedy like this for me to be posting a note on our alumni Message Board.
I am sure many of you Received Charlene's note about the loss of Waleed. Once past the shock,
the memories I had of Waleed at B-school surfaced immediate: Did you know:
Waleed, you will be missed by all of us. ( Joel David Anderson ) |
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* We are stunned by the recent events - especially when they hit so close to home.
Our prayers have been with HBS classmates potentially affected since I first saw those buildings
burning on Tuesday morning. Our response has been prayer. Prayer for God's comfort; prayer for God's
peace; prayer for the assurance that God is in control - that even though these acts were meant
for evil, that God will use them for good. Already I see my family, my neighborhood, my classmates,
my countrymen, and even the entire free world pull closer together and seek deeper meaning in their
lives because of this seemingly senseless tragedy. I will miss Waleed. I'll miss his strength, his intelligence, his easy-going smile. As part of his early morning study group in our first year, I was always amazed at his insights on cases which were so different from mine, but right on the money. We could not have come from more different circumstances, but we struck up a fast friendship, based on mutual respect and admiration. Why, he even introduced me to the Simpsons, a fine tradition that I have now passed on to my sons. He will be missed, but not forgotten. My heart is still heavy awaiting other bad news concerning other classmates who may have been in those buildings in New York or Washington. Thank you Charlene and Jack for keeping us connected in both good times and bad. Please keep up the good work of connecting us together in the time of great need. We'll continue to pray here in Minnesota. Sincerely, ( Todd Berkley) |
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* As I re-read Joel's post, I was reminded of one of my finest moments. Remember the roof top party
with no railing when my then 2-year-old son Garrett made a dash for the edge. I am sure
some of you still recall the diving catch that kept him from going over the edge. Waleed's
place was more of a bachelor pad than a family rec center. The Berkley's will never forget those rooftop parties in the Back Bay. For your info, Garrett is now 11 and is still in the business of death-defying stunts. He is "extreme" in many ways including football and skateboarding on the 6-foot high half-pipe I built in our backyard this summer. (In case you are wondering, our oldest son Blaine is now 16! Beware as you drive the streets of Minneapolis.) (Todd Berkley) |
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* I'm still somewhere between shock and denial about the whole tragedy. I live in Arlington, VA,
two miles from the Pentagon and remember looking at it as I drove to National Airport for a
very early morning flight to Boston on Tuesday. I knew that the attacks in the financial district would likely take some of my friends and the attacks on the Pentagon might take my neighbors. Waleed was not one that I expected and his loss saddens me greatly. I too remember the parties on his rooftop and in particular remember his kindness in loaning me a sweatshirt at the first section event as I (a veteran of many hot DC summers) was unprepared for winter starting in December in Boston. He was a vibrant part of our section and I'm comforted by the good memories I have. I hope you all are too. Once the attacks started I immediatly sent my wife Rachel out of the city with our new five-month old daughter, Lane Burnett McDonnell. We're fine and returned to our house last night. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts. (Evan McDonnell) |
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* Gigi and I grieve with all those who knew Waleed, especially his family and his fiancee.
He was a wonderful guy. It's hard to believe that he is gone, so quickly and under such
utterly despicable circumstances. Waleed, you will be missed. Our prayers are with you and
those you have been taken from. (Daniel Frederick Muth ) |
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* Memories of Waleed are very vivid, he was impossible to forget: We'll all miss him, he was one of the really, really good guys. (Steven Anthony Cahillane) |
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* My two best memories are Waleed's BackBay rooftop (was impressed someone could afford to live off campus!)
and the end of a first-semester exam, when he seemingly printed off pages and pages and pages of
spreadsheets and written analysis, and I thought "oh crap" as I printed and gathered my relatively
meager and humble offering to the gods of examination... Mostly, I remember him smiling a lot...the best way to remember anyone. Hope you're all okay, ( Mickey (G.P. Michael Freeman)) |
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* I just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear such terrible news about Waleed. He was so friendly
and easygoing that his friendships extended far beyond his section mates. Speaking for myself and so
many others from Section E, we will miss him a great deal. My prayers are with his family and his fiancée.
I'll remember him fondly. (Christina Heenan Suh ) |
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* Whilst being from Section A, my friendship with Waleed was rekindled in Istanbul, where he was
heading the Monitor office over there. He was one of the factors in my decision to take an assignment
with Coca-Cola over there. I will miss his incredible integrity. His Turkish girl friend died of Leukemia
and I attended the burial. He had relocated to Houston to be with her as she was undergoing treatment... He was among the best of the best. (Khalil Younes ) |
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* I had been out of town for several days, and when checking voicemail, I learned that Waleed had passed away. Along with Todd Berkeley, I was in a first year study group with Waleed. My first thougths of his passing were of what a great guy he was, and how I'll miss him. As Todd mentioned, his insights on our cases were unbelievable. Waleed would usually show up a little late, and look like he'd hardly dried off from his morning shower. The rest of us would have labored on our cases through much of the previous afternoon and night. Not Waleed! He'd usually been out waterskiing on the previous afternoon, and then spent what we all thought was relatively little time on the cases compared to the rest of us. I learned a lot from Waleed, both personally and professionally, and will always appreciate his appetite for enjoying life wherever he was. I'll miss you, Waleed. (Timothy Alan Wicks) |
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