Shakir received her undergraduate degree from Wellesley and post-graduate degrees from Harvard and Boston University. Evelyn was a news writer and reader on “The Arabic Hour” television program, wrote many articles on Arab American literature, and published a book, Bint Arab: Arab and Arab American Women in the United States. This book tells the story of women from the Arab world, their daughters, and granddaughters during the past century. Shakir talks about her own experience growing up in a Lebanese-American family and community. Shakir was a professor at Bentley College. She shared the following wisdom with young people: “Learn as much as you can about the world, read, travel, listen to others, but don’t let anyone else do your thinking for you.”
