Joker. Wisecracker. Whatever the word, Emaad Raghib (12) has gained a reputation over the years for making people laugh.

“My sense of humor is pretty dark, with a little twist to it. I think that’s where humor comes from, a twist,” he said. “I mean it’s different to everyone, what people consider a fun twist, but it’s definitely something I like. It can be the simplest pun, which is god-awful but still is like a twist, and I think that’s the foundation of humor.”

Emaad believes that good jokes spur from the moment and fit the group of people that he is conversing with.

“I think more in the moment. It’s not something I come up beforehand, like I don’t come prepared with jokes; it’s just in the moment,” Emaad said. “I think the best humor is relatable to the people that you’re telling it to. So for each class, I would do different jokes.”

Growing up, Emaad had to deal with jokes and misunderstandings regarding his last name, which used to be Hussein before he changed it to Raghib.

“In 6th grade, [during] my first debate tournament, I was in the novice division, and I got first, so my name was Emaad Hussein, but when the announcer called me up to get my award, the lady said ‘Saddam Hussein,’” he said. “So, I went up there and everyone just turned like, ‘Whoa, Saddam Hussein is here?’”

While Emaad wasn’t offended by the jokes, he decided to change his last name to avoid potential discrimination in the future.

“I think changing my last name made it easier in life,” Emaad said. “Not like school, because I don’t really care; I’m cool with all kinds of jokes in that sort of sense. But it’s easier, because if you grow up with the last name ‘Hussein,’ then it’s harder [in] airports and whatever; that was the case for my dad, so basically as a kid I was like ‘I don’t want to be like that,’ so that’s why I changed my last name.”

In addition to changing his last name, Emaad also moved nine times during his childhood, forcing him to adjust to new environments and make friends quickly.

“Before, I would have friends that wouldn’t really keep in touch, because I’d be in a different school,” he said. “As I was growing up, before I came to Harker, I would get new friends every year, so I wouldn’t have childhood friends that I would actually know. And now I’m moving to college, and I actually will have friends that I’ll be leaving.”

Emaad’s unique experiences growing up have given him a carefree outlook on life. He strives to “go with the flow,” living by the motto “what we lose in the fire, we find in the ashes.”

“If somebody has a positive outlook, it’ll all work out in the end, even if it’s pretty bad, whatever is going on. I think it’s pretty hard to be positive all the time, but I think everyone should definitely try,” Emaad said. “I don’t really have a positive outlook, but more of a ‘don’t care’ attitude, so it kind of works out. So, not necessarily a positive outlook, but an attitude where everything is well [with] whatever they’re doing because it’ll just all work out in the end.”