Mazen Hassan

Have you met Mazen Hassan? The tall, modelesque, smooth figure that strides in our Intro to Journalism classes and slips into a seat, which by the way is a million times too small. You might have noticed that he speaks confidently, with the knowledge of years beyond his ago but with a characteristic eccentricity and vigor. You haven’t? Well then, you should know these few things first.

He likes paper over plastic. “The noise is just so annoying. Because I live here, I try to be eco-friendly. But really, it’s just the noise.”

He prefers pens over pencils. They are smoother, more permanent.

In the morning, it’s tea with milk and sugar. Besides tea, pesto and premade/frozen pizzas are the only things in his fridge. “I love to cook, I would love to cook more. I just don’t have time.”

He goes with boxers (for comfort) rather than briefs. “I’m just clausterphobic, I gotta have room.”

By 7a.m. Monday through Friday, Hassan can be found in his natural environment on the L train, commuting to Manhattan for a long, hard day of Psych classes, an internship at H&M, go-sees and casting calls at modelling and acting agencies punctuated by smoke breaks, Marlboro Methols, a recent covert from Lites. The man follows a strict schedule but describes himself as more fluid, easy going and open minded than most people he knows, from family to friends to roomates. “Everyone says that I’m a Gemini and I’m uptight. I’m not. I hate it.”

This duality is a big theme in his life, penetrating even his religious practices and beliefs. Hassan is from Egypt, originally, and his family is mostly Muslim. His sister is the most traditional, “every since my sister got married, she’s been more hardcore. It’s her husband, he’s really traditional.” But it is his mother’s open minded practice of Islam that he most identifies with. “Me, personally, I connect to the core pillars like praying and fasting and charity, the general things. But the other stuff, the interpretations, the views on gays and lesbians, the less progressive things that I don’t agree with. I’m more open minded in my faith.”

Hassan has preferences and particularities. He has a schedule to follow and an impressive modeling and performing portfolio. He’s going places, his face will one day be displayed on the billboards in Times Square that he first saw at age 3 when on vacation from Egypt. Sound like he’s a classic Type A uptight person? There you would be wrong. But you’ll just have to meet him to find out exactly how wrong you are.

-Sarah Garrity Guenther