Events

The annual Fingerprints reception in honor of the donors took place on Monday, May 29 at Marquand House at the American University of Beirut (AUB), and was attended by President Fadlo Khuri, Vice President for Advancement Imad Baalbaki, members of the AUB community, and graduating students who contributed to the fund.

The Fingerprints Endowed Scholarship Fund is an endowment established for students, by students, back in 2002. Students have the option to donate to this fund before they graduate and the proceeds go towards financial aid. So far, 240 students have benefited from the generosity of their fellows. This year, the University Student Faculty Committee (USFC) renewed their commitment to the fund by matching each dollar donated by one. Trustee Randa Haffar has also pledged to match each dollar donated by two, as she has in past years, up to $20,000. Potentially, each dollar donated by students becomes four dollars.

During the ceremony, Dr. Fadlo Khuri thanked the students for their generosity, and congratulated them on their graduation.

“At the end of the day, this University was established on the basis of service, remembering the words of our great founder and first President Daniel Bliss ‘We were not anxious to appear great, but we were anxious to lay foundations upon which greatness could be built,’” said Dr. Khuri. “AUB students never fail to impress me – and today is no exception. I am glad to see each and every one of you, now donors to your own alma mater.”

In his turn, Dr. Baalbaki thanked the students and the USFC for their generosity, and shared with the attendees some statistics, saying that the fund is valued at over $1.7 million.
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“So far more than 735 students contributed to Fingerprints, about 40 percent of the graduates. Some of them, about 21, decided to leave their full deposits , in order to support the program,” said Dr. Baalbaki.

Students that are recipients of the scholarship also got to share their experiences with the audience. Agribusiness student Gaelle Abbud said, “I would’ve never had the chance to be here, without your support.”

“What distinguishes this scholarship is that it is from students, for students. You understand more than anyone, you know the challenges that we have faced and the struggles that we have been through. But you also know how lucky we are to be here, so you have decided to give back, so that other students may have the same opportunity,” added Abbud.

Bakhos Tadros, a graduating senior in Biology who also donated to the fund this year, said that he was grateful for the chance to study at AUB, and that “the scholarship I received helped in lightening the financial burdens on my family.”

“As we reached the end of this spring, we (the graduating students) received emails concerning the scholarship. I read the email and was already familiar with the program. I had no doubt that I wanted to give back to it. I knew that by donating I am contributing to someone’s tuition and helping in their education (like the previous classes had done for me). I hope through this I can impact someone’s life and motivate them to donate themselves,” said Tadros.

Students then joined the President in cutting the cake, and later enjoyed the reception.

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