By Ben Pham ’27

Huda Fahmy will join Mercersburg Academy on Friday, February 13, for the Joseph Hilliard Beauregard ’18 Memorial Generosity of Spirit School Meeting. Fahmy was a 2023 finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature for her internationally acclaimed graphic novel: Huda F Cares?

Growing up in Dearborn, MI, Fahmy has loved comic books since she was small. Fahmy originally taught English for eight years before she started writing essays about her experiences as a visibly Muslim woman in America with hopes of publishing those essays. After several rejections, Fahmy was encouraged by her sister to publish these essays as a graphic novel instead, kickstarting Fahmy’s career as an internationally acclaimed graphic novelist. 

During her visit to Mercersburg, Fahmy will have lunch with the Muslim Student Union and go to the Graphic Novels class to speak. 

As part of the school meeting, Fahmy will share her journey of becoming an author and the importance of using your voice to tell your stories. Fahmy will also give a brief but comprehensive overview of how the publishing industry works. Following the school meeting, Fahmy will host a book signing, and students can purchase her books by charging them home. 

The Joseph Hilliard Beauregard ’18 Memorial Generosity of Spirit School Meeting series honors the memory of Beauregard, who attended Mercersburg for three years and graduated with the Class of 2018. He passed away in October 2018 during his freshman year at Savannah College of Art and Design. The speaker series has been established in his memory to further an ongoing and powerful message of recognition, respect, and caring that was a part of Beauregard’s life.