Labak’s mother and brother standing next to the memorial tree at the tree planting ceremony.

DEARBORN — With the direction of the superintendent of Universal Academy, Nawal Hamadeh, the academy’s administrative team held a memorial tree planting ceremony at the campus on Friday, Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. to honor the life of Abdulrahman Labak, as well as other young students who have died.

The ceremony was “in commemoration of Abdulrahman Labak as an amazing student who was a role model student behaviorally and academically,” said Wissam Charafeddine, family engagement liaison. “Abdulrahman Labak’s classmates, with the help of their art teachers, created a memorial mosaic for him that will be placed around the tree.”

The 14-year-old passed away on Aug. 11 while canoeing and swimming with his father and sister in the Huron River near Ann Arbor. When his sister began to struggle in the water, Labak jumped into the river to save her life. 

EMS attempted CPR, but were unable to save him. 

Labak’s mother, brother, classmates, teachers and administrators attended the tree planting ceremony, along with other community members.

“The tree was planted with the help of Greening of Detroit, whose membership and special events coordinator, Imelda Pena, attended, along with Dean Hay, director of Green Infrastructure in the Greening of Detroit,” Charafeddine said. 

The principal of Universal Academy, Wanda Ajrouche, spoke at the ceremony.

“Remembering the students is easy, but missing them is a heartache that never goes away,” she said. “The special memories of Abdulrahman and our beloved students will always make us smile.”