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 Riad’s* story.

Riad grew up in a small village with his parents and brother. He dreamed of attending “the top university in Lebanon and one of the leading universities in the world, in terms of academics, research, and social multicultural life.” He knew though that this would remain a dream unless he received financial support. “My parents’ income was not enough to cover my tuition fees even when the situation in Lebanon was much better than it is now,” he says. “Today, given the continuous deterioration in the value of the Lebanese lira, my parents’ income is worth less than $100 on the black market. It doesn’t even cover food and transport.”

Riad worries a lot about his family’s situation. “The situation is impacting my parents of course. It is also impacting me psychologically and mentally, as I’m always worried about them. This makes me stressed and causes me to lose focus on my studies for a few days, despite my continuous efforts to forget about the economic crisis and focus on my academic and medical life.”

He is deeply grateful for the support that he receives. “I really thank the donors from the bottom of my heart for thinking about me and all the Lebanese students in this challenging situation, and for helping us to pursue our education in the best university, AUB.”

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