Impact Stories

An AUB alumnus, proud scholarship recipient, and donor, Bechara Raad (EE ’89) remembers clearly what he describes as “the catalyst” – the moment when he decided that it was time to give back. “It was always something I planned to do,” he says, but it was the experience that he and his wife had as parents of a sick child looking for answers and reassurance, which – he hastens to add – they got, that convinced them to establish a scholarship fund at AUB. “We felt like everyone that we dealt with at the AUB Medical Center cared,” says Raad “from the receptionist who answered the phone and managed to get us an appointment to the doctor to the technicians – everyone. The whole experience was superb. We looked at each other after that and decided that we needed to do something.”

Raad already knew AUB well when he and his wife visited AUBMC three years ago with their daughter. In addition to the four years he had spent as an electrical engineering undergraduate, AUB was also where he got his first “real job” as a telecommunications manager (1991-94). “I owe this university a lot,” he says. He is especially grateful for the scholarships that he received that made it possible for him to attend AUB. “I was a very good student and worked hard, but I was also lucky,” he says. “My family had no money. I would not have been able to attend AUB – or Virginia Tech where I earned my master’s degree (1991), or INSEAD where I earned my MBA (1995) – without scholarship support. Now that I can afford to do so, it is time for me to give back. I feel like it’s a natural thing to do.”

Raad admits that the challenges that AUB and Lebanon are facing these days are daunting. “At times, it feels like there is not enough that you can do. You can’t help but wonder whether the amount that you can give will really make a difference.” His wife, Yen, adds, “we wish we could do more.” Raad knows, however, that the support they are providing to AUB students does make a difference. “We receive these wonderful letters – and sometimes short videos – from the students who benefit from our scholarship and it becomes very real,” he says.

In addition to supporting the Bechara Raad (EE ’89) and Yen Fong Raad Scholarship at AUB, Raad and his wife have also established a scholarship at INSEAD. The first two recipients of that scholarship, which supports Lebanese students, were AUB alumni. “Especially during these times,” he says, “I think we all need to do what we can.”