Impact Stories

Karim Yatim (BS Biology ’09, MD ’13) made his first donation to support student scholarships in 2009 as a member of the Class of 2009. He was one of the graduating students who contributed to the Fingerprints Endowed Scholarship Fund, a fundraising program by students for students to encourage graduating students to leave their fingerprints behind at AUB by supporting a scholarship fund that would benefit future AUB students. Yatim made a second donation to Fingerprints in 2013 when he earned his MD degree. He has made regular donations to support student scholarships since then, most recently in November 2023 to support the AUB Fundraising Dinner in New York City.

Yatim and his two brothers received both merit-based and need-based financial aid, which enabled them to attend AUB. “Someone who didn’t even know me made an investment in me 18 years ago,” he says. “I support scholarships at AUB because I want to make a similar investment in current AUB students.” Commenting on Yatim’s philanthropy, Associate Vice President for Development Walid Katergi said, “It is always especially gratifying when alumni who benefited themselves from financial assistance choose to ‘pay it forward’ by being scholarship donors themselves.”

Yatim says that his time at AUB had a huge impact on his life. Many of his closest friends today are people he met at his alma mater. It was also at AUB that he met one of his mentors, Dr. Kamal Badr, professor of medicine and executive associate dean for medical education, “who has been very influential in my career – and as a role model in all aspects of my life.” Yatim also has fond memories of student life at AUB, including the time he spent working with biology professor Dr. Nada Sinno Saoud as a work study student. “It was a great experience,” he remembers. “I learned so much working with her about plants in Lebanon. It was not something I ever imagined I would do, but I really enjoyed it.”

Yatim appreciates what an enormous impact even a modest donation to support student scholarships can have – not just on the student, but on the student’s family and community. He also feels strongly that investing in AUB helps Lebanon. “This is something we all should do if we can – especially these days when things are so difficult in our country,” he says.