By Nada Hamouda
The two Saudi students who died trying to save two children from drowning were granted, on the 14th of September, a posthumous honorary bachelor’s degrees from the American universities they were attending.
In June 2018, the victims, who were also cousins, went in a picnic at the Chicopee River in Wilbraham, Massachusetts where the day turned into a tragedy after they joined other people to rescue two youngsters from drowning. The children made it to the shore while the cousins died just a month before their graduation.
Theeb Al-Yami, 27, was awarded a bachelor’s degree in Engineering by the University of Hartford in Connecticut while Jasser Al-Rakah, 25, got a degree in Civil Engineering from Western New England University in Massachusetts. Moreover, the commemoration was attended by members of their families and the Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom to the United States, Sami Al-Sadhan.