Dima Alawar is described by her peers as outgoing, cheerful, funny, and well-rounded, and she has now been recognized as one of Millbrook’s Outstanding Seniors for the class of 2026.
During Dima’s freshman year, she arrived in the U.S. from Lebanon. In Lebanon, she attended a small K-12 school with a tight-knit class of 60 students in her grade. To Dima, her classmates were more than just friends, they were family. “That literally was my second home,” she says, “so I’m very happy for Millbrook to now be that for me all over again.”
Her freshman and sophomore years at Millbrook were rocky, as she struggled to adapt to the new grading system and an all-English curriculum. This adjustment period caused her to fall behind in her classes, and she says it “has affected [her] every single day leading up to [her] senior year.” Dima has never let this stop her, though, and not only did she raise her GPA up to a 4.0 by her senior year, she did it while never passing up an opportunity to help her community.
What makes Dima unique is her desire to make an impact; “that’s what drives my decisions, just making an impact, no matter how small or how big.” From the lacrosse team to theatre to founding her own club, you will always see Dima lending a helping hand or just making someone’s day with a hello. Dima is best known for her outgoing, approachable personality. Her best friend, Marisa Giardino, notes, “Anyone can talk to her, she’ll start a conversation with anybody.” Dima loves how genuine a conversation with a stranger can be. She says “Every time I speak to a stranger, I just start to love humanity a little more, and it kind of redeems it.” Dima’s confidence is contagious, and it encourages the people around her to branch out, too. She even posts on YouTube and TikTok to reach an even wider audience. Dima plans to pursue her passion for connection by majoring in communications and film in college. Top of her bucket list is to be in a movie, even if it’s at the end of the credits, and with her drive and work ethic, we have no doubt that dream will come true.
Outside of school, Dima is passionate about her culture, art, music, and going to concerts: “That’s all I do all the time. If I make a dime, it’s always going to a concert.” Tyler, the Creator has especially influenced her. Since she was eight years old, she has blasted his music every morning and learned every lyric by heart. Since she has been in America, a highlight has been all the concerts she has attended and all of the memories she will keep. When she’s not talking about Tyler, the Creator, Dima talks about Anthony Bourdain: “He’s the person I talk about whenever I get the chance to…he goes from country to country, and he eats food, and then he relates it back to politics and their culture…I try to commit to being like him.”
Dima never shies away from speaking her mind. She says, “I grew up very, very, very political. And it’s hard not to when you live in a third-world country.” Dima recalls a time in Lebanon in 2019, when they didn’t have school for six months because there were protests everywhere. She says now, “Literally, how could I not be political and always be speaking about these topics… I never shy away from using my platform to speak about politics.” Her determination does not go unnoticed by her peers. Dima’s teacher, Mr. Segal, describes her as independent and confident saying, “There have been several conversations I’ve had with her where she was advocating for something she believed in and was facing a lot of negative feedback from that.” He admires her determination, highlighting that, “her ability to…focus on what she thought was important and what she believed in…summarizes who she is and the values she has.” Mr. Segal’s advice to Dima is to “Keep doing what you’re doing…that’s all that matters.”
As her time at Millbrook comes to an end, Dima’s commitment to connection and positive change will always remain at Millbrook through the impact she made on teachers, friends, and many more. We can’t wait to see what she will do next, but we know that her determination and passion will bring her success.
