Tony Khouri is currently a senior. While his mother, Tonia Khouri, ran for Congress this past November, they now are political activists surging a fight against religious persecution in Lebanon. 

What have you and your family done for Lebanon and the Middle East?
We traveled around the U.S. to 13 states to get signatures to pass a bill called “HR440” to help stop persecution in the Middle East.

What does HR440 do?
It basically gives aid from the U.S. to Christians in the Middle East who are being persecuted for their religions. It means we can protect them.

Why did you and your family do this?
We are from Lebanon, and we go to Lebanon a lot, and even though [persecution] wasn’t happening right in that area, didn’t mean that it wasn’t happening at all. There was something wrong going on, and we wanted to take action on it.

What do you usually do in Lebanon when you’re there?
We have family out there, so we usually go around and visit everybody. Lebanese culture is very family related, so everything we do is very family oriented.

What was it like having your mom run for Congress?
It was a lot. It was not at all like I thought it was going to be. I forgot how big a congressional position was. It was a lot of busy work and pressure, but it was a really good experience, and I learned a lot from it.

Do you think you will grow up to do anything in politics? If not, what do you want to do?
I will definitely want to aid campaigns, but I don’t think I’ll ever actually run for myself. I love politics, but it’s not really what I want to pursue. I’m going to the business school at the University of Iowa. I either want to start my own business or assist my dad in his.

What are some of your hobbies at Metea or outside of Metea?
Inside, I am the captain of the lacrosse team, and I also build computers because I learned how to when I worked in the IT department at my dad’s business.