Rubeiz was one of four children, growing up with an older brother and two little sisters. She grew up in an extremely male dominant society. Her father controlled where she went and who she saw. Her brother would beat her. “If I simply smiled at one of his friends, he would go crazy on me,” she said.
Throughout her childhood and teenage years, Rubeiz said her older brother was abusive towards her. She presumed he was insecure and would take it out on her.
“One time he heard a rumor that a boy had a crush on me, and he woke me up at two in the morning by pulling my hair, dragging me out of bed, and beating me,” she said.
She was disgusted by her brother’s abusive and manic behavior. She was even more appalled that her parents witnessed and allowed it to continue.
Rubeiz said, as a woman, she wasn’t allowed to play sports, go to parties, hangout with friends after school, or drive. Given this, she spent her time focusing on her studies. “I enjoyed school and was at the top of my class. By the time I graduated high school, I knew I had yet to reach my full potential. I wanted to learn more,” she said. She insisted to her father that she needed to attend college. He was hesitant for Rubeiz would be the first woman in their family to ever attend college. She said her father admitted she was his smartest child and the most qualified to go to college.
Her father finally agreed to let her attend college but put restrictions in place. He didn’t want Rubeiz to live in a dorm. He preferred her to commute so she could live at home. She said that university nearby just opened only five years prior and had limited majors. They offered majors to become an architect or teacher. She said she refused to attend that university.
Rubeiz had a passion for science, ideally in the healthcare or medical field.
“I always pictured myself becoming a doctor one day.”
Her father finally compromised and let her attend the Lebanese American University in Byblos, where she decided to study pharmacy. LAU was a 40-minute commute from their house.
“My dad didn’t take into consideration that LAU was in the middle of the mountains. You needed to drive down narrow and windy roads to get there which was nearly impossible for the unexperienced driver I was,” she said. Her father allowed her to live in the dorms.
Throughout her time at LAU, paying for tuition was a constant worry and struggle for Rubeiz and her family. She said that was the motivation she needed. She earned herself a full, merit scholarship for her five years of pharmacy school. She graduated in June 2001.
During her final year of clinical rotation at LAU, she said she started dating a medical student. Her father did not approve because her boyfriend was Muslim. She was forced to break up with him saying, “I knew it would never work out in a million years.”
Rubeiz said she disliked how males in her family had authority over major decisions in her life and wonders how different her life could have been without those constant restrictions.
After her graduation in 2001, Rubeiz wanted to get her masters in America. Once again, she had to convince her father to let her move to America. Her father limited her options to schools in Boston where they had reliable friends and family there. He insisted her older brother should move to America with her. Rubeiz said she was not fond of this idea but was still dedicated to get her degree.
Rubeiz and her older brother moved to Boston just two weeks before the 9/11 attacks. Rubeiz said she struggled with the language barrier and her strong accent.
“I had been taking English classes since elementary school, but it was evident that English was my third language,” she said.
She said she faced judgments for being from the Middle East and speaking Arabic. She said she focused on her studies rather than the hostility of others.
She was accepted into Boston University and started at Boston Medical School in the fall of 2001, where she eventually completed her master’s in molecular pharmacology.
While completing her masters, she faced many struggles. She said adjusting to a new country was challenging. For example, she was so unfamiliar with the idea of public transportation and was shocked seeing Boston’s train system. She said she got lost many times before learning the system.
While studying for her master’s degree, she was worked 12 hour days- between school, working as a pharmacist technician, and completing her clinical research. Because she graduated as a pharmacist outside of the United States, she had to be approved as a licensed pharmacist in the US. She was working full time at CVS, where she was required to complete 1,200 hours of pharmacist technician practice.
While she was at BU, she met her husband, Tony, in May 2002. They started dating and were engaged by December 2002. She said she rushed the idea of marriage because she was yearning for some sort of freedom. At the time, she was living with her older brother who remained protective and abusive.
“If I came home late, like after 10, or even if I came home after a date with Tony he would beat me,” she said.
He insisted that she would need his approval before she would be allowed to date anyone. She said she was tired of her living situation and wanted an escape.
Tony acknowledged the struggles she was facing at home and surprised her with a ring on Christmas Day. They were married a year later. She said marriage gave her a sense of freedom that she had never experienced. Now, they live happily in Norwell, Massachusetts with their two daughters.
She graduated from Boston Medical in January 2004. She completed her technician hours and was approved to sit for her Equivalency Exam, MAPLEX Exam, and Pharmacy Law Exam of Massachusetts. Within a year after graduation, she passed all three exams and was a licensed pharmacist by August 2005.
Within a few years, Rubeiz worked her way up the pharmaceutical ladder at CVS. She said she was promoted to manager after her third year working there. CVS then paid for her to take classes to become a pharmacist supervisor. She was awarded the District Paragon Pharmacist Award in 2013, one of the most prestigious pharmacist awards.
Before she took the supervisor position, Rubeiz tore her ACL, forcing her to change her schedule to part time. Not long after she recovered from surgery, Rubeiz’s father was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
“It was at this time I knew I needed to put my career on hold for my family. They needed me and they needed my full presence,” she said. She stepped down from her job at CVS and devoted her life to helping her father and caring for her daughters.
In 2014, Rubeiz’s parents moved to America for advanced medical treatment. Her father was treated at the Dana-Farbor Cancer Institute.
She said she is happy to be able to watch her daughters live in a more accepting society and give them the childhood she never had. Her daughters have found a passion for soccer and Rubeiz is happy to support them, despite driving to different states for tournaments every weekend, she said.
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