© 2026 WNIJ and WNIU
Northern Public Radio
801 N 1st St.
DeKalb, IL 60115
815-753-9000
Northern Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

A Waubonsee professor brings her experience as an immigrant business owner to the classroom | Teachers' Lounge Podcast

A picture of business professor Dr. Nour Al-Nabir set against a sunset next to a Waubonsee sign
Waubonsee Community College
Waubonsee business professor Dr. Nour Al-Nabir

On a new Teachers' Lounge, it’s Dr. Nour Al Naber! She’s a business professor at Waubonsee Community College.

Her and her husband run two wine & liquor retail stores, so the examples she brings her students are not hypothetical.

And she wants her business and marketing students to start getting real-world experience of their own, right away, partnering with local businesses.

Nour also shares a lot about herself, including her journey coming to the U.S. from Jordan.

“I talk about myself as an immigrant. I came to the USA in 2005 with my husband and my son. Back then I was struggling. English is not my first language," she said. "I'm proud to talk about my struggle when I started here, my financial struggle, because they're also struggling.”

It’s all to help build real, lasting relationships with her students; relationships that grow through extracurriculars like their business club, where they have students compete in national entrepreneurial competitions like SkillsUSA. Last year, their Waubonsee team won the whole thing!

"We were so happy," said Nour. "We were jumping in the air!"

We talk about that, her passion for international relations, building spaghetti towers, and so much more…

Teachers' Lounge Podcast
Peter Medlin
Teachers' Lounge Podcast

SHOW NOTES

Educator(s) in this episode:

Dr. Nour Al Naber

Stories featured in this episode:

Enrollment at Illinois public K-12 schools is down 10% over the past decade. Will some schools have to close?

Music: Our show's theme music is from the northern Illinois-based band Kindoves, featuring the songs "Popn," "Origins" and "Quiche." You can find more of their music on their SoundCloud page. You can also listen to the episode of WNIJ's Sessions from Studio A where they were featured.

Teachers! People who know teachers! People with stories about teachers! Send us an email and be part of the show!

Copy Edited by Eryn Lent

Peter joins WNIJ as a graduate of North Central College. He is a native of Sandwich, Illinois.