To his friends and family, Elias Ibrahim was an inspirational activist with an open mind who was always willing to put others before himself.
Ibrahim, who was a fourth-year physiological science student, died Friday morning at the age of 21 from an apparent drowning at the Sunset Recreation Center. He is survived by his parents and three younger siblings.
Ibrahim was from Moreno Valley and graduated in 2004 from John W. North High School. He was planning on attending medical school in the fall and had scored an impressive 38 on his MCAT exams, said Bernice Shaw, cultural affairs commissioner for the Undergraduate Students Association Council.
Ibrahim’s passion at UCLA was political activism. Friends recall his involvement in groups ranging from Students for Justice in Palestine, where he was a founding member, and the Russian Club, representative of his half-Russian and half-Palestinian heritage.
Randa Wahbe, a third-year international development studies student, worked closely with Ibrahim in Students for Justice in Palestine. She said one of her cherished memories of Ibrahim came recently during a vigil for the eight Israelis killed in the Jerusalem seminary.
“Elias, always a supporter and advocate of dialogue and coexistence between the pro-Israel and pro-Palestine student groups, was enthused to see us come together in the wake of this tragedy,” Wahbe said.
Wahbe added that he was always friendly to supporters of Israel, even during Palestine Awareness Week, which she said flared tensions between the two sides of the conflict.
Shaw said he was particularly invested in Abraham’s Vision, an organization that brings together Israeli and Palestinian students in order to facilitate understanding between them.
Ibrahim took his interest in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a local level as a member of the University Student Advisory Board to the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission, where he facilitated dialogue between Jewish and Muslim students at local universities, Shaw said.
UCLA alumna Tiffany Cantrell said that Ibrahim wanted to use his strengths and privileges to help others.
“He always talked about becoming a doctor to help those around him, even those he couldn’t see. He embraced all people as human and nothing less, nothing more,” she said.
Second-year international development studies student and close friend Salomon Hossein said that in addition to his activism, Ibrahim was a diligent, hard worker.
“Elias was modest enough to do any task that was ever relegated to him, from the measly and uninspiring to the tiresome and the tedious, without so much of a complaint,” Hossein said.
His sister, Diana Ibrahim, said her brother was her best friend and was always interested in meeting new people and exploring life.
“He brought meaning to everything. He was excited to learn about people’s lives, history, science, languages, astrology, anything and everything,” Ibrahim said.
She added that he always was there to support people, regardless of race, religion or age.
Sana Ibrahim, his cousin, said he was a kind and warm-hearted person who enjoyed discussing politics.
“He was a visionary who had plans to help make the world better. He wanted to teach in Third World countries,” Ibrahim said.
Elias Ibrahim’s involvement also spread to the Theta Chi fraternity, where he was a member.
Joshua May, a first-year mathematics and economics student in Theta Chi, said he will remember Ibrahim for his commitment to those in need.
“He always stood up for human rights, and he never cared what people thought of him if he knew he was doing what was right,” May said.
After students received word of his death, two separate vigils were held in Bruin Plaza on Friday and Monday evenings.
Shaw, one of the organizers of the vigils, said hundreds of students attended Friday’s memorial, and a core group of Ibrahim’s friends are trying to find a place on Bruin Walk to plant a tree memorializing him.
Diana Ibrahim said she hopes people learn from her brother how to live life with no regrets, and how to love with no regrets.
Ibrahim’s last days were filled with laughing, joking and goofing around with people he enjoyed spending time with, said Ahmad Al Falasi, a close friend.
“He lived his life really happy. He was a hippie, a naturalist, and a free-lover. If he knew it were his last days, he would have lived it the same,” Al Falasi said.