Impact Stories

This is not an easy time to be a medical or a nursing student – anywhere. In addition to keeping up with a demanding course load, many of these dedicated young men and women are also volunteering to do extra shifts at hospitals, helping to administer PCR tests and vaccines – helping out when and where they can during the pandemic. This is true at AUB’s Medical Center as well. Imagine doing all that while also worrying about whether your parents and siblings have enough to eat and to heat their homes. That’s the situation that some current AUB students are facing. They count themselves fortunate, however, because they are receiving support from donor-funded scholarships. Without this money, they would not be able to continue their studies at AUB. We want to introduce you to several of these students. Here is Jamil’s story.

“Without AUB,” explains Jamil, “I could not have imagined what my trajectory in life would have been. AUB has not only grown me as a professional, but more importantly, as a human. So much of my character, personality, and outlook in life comes from this institution.”

Jamil’s family have always prioritized education above everything else. “My father was the only one of his three siblings who attended university and always tried his best to make sure my sister and I would receive the best education possible for us. He considers my education at AUB the biggest and most important investment of his life,” says Jamil.

With his father’s encouragement, Jamil applied to AUB. “As a leading institution in the region, I thought AUB would open doors to many opportunities in the future. In particular, the Faculty of Medicine at AUB has a very esteemed reputation in the region and beyond. I knew that learning here at AUB would give me a big head start in my career.” Jamil also knew that he would not be able to attend medical school without financial support.

Like so many other families in Lebanon today, Jamil’s parents have been deeply affected by the current financial situation. “Our family was already struggling,” he explains. “The collapse of the country was a catalyst that made our already established hardships even worse. With the diminishing purchasing power that we are experiencing day by day, as the dollar continues to rise, meeting our financial responsibilities is becoming increasingly difficult.”

Jamil is grateful to scholarship donors that are making it possible for him to attend medical school. “I think that they are not only doing individuals, like myself, a favor. They are also doing all of society a favor. They are giving individuals a chance to make a better tomorrow.”

*We are not using Jamil’s real name to protect his privacy.