Impact Stories

Although it is AUB’s smallest faculty, the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) is also a very diverse faculty. Its Graduate Public Health Program, for example, attracts students from the Gulf, Africa, the US, and the region. It should come as no surprise then that the members of the Health Sciences Alumni Chapter live in at least 20 countries around the world. Despite the great geographic distances that separate them, FHS alumni feel a strong connection to their faculty—as they demonstrated on December 3, 2018 when they came together to win the Faculty Challenge during AUB’s first Giving Day!

When the Health Sciences Alumni Chapter was established in 1994, most FHS alumni were Lebanese. This is no longer the case. “Our chapter benefits a lot from the fact that we are such a diverse group,” explains Chapter President Rachel Btaiche (BS ’13, MPH ’16). “Every year alumni join the chapter enriching it with their diverse experiences.” The chapter also benefits from the particularly close relationships that alumni forge during their time on campus. “There is a unique culture of professionalism, ethics, and respect that AUB, and FHS especially, fosters in students,” explains Btaiche. “You feel this chemistry whenever we get together.”

Btaiche credits this chemistry with chapter members’ eagerness to make an impact in the communities where they live. “I’ll give you an example of how this chapter makes an impact,” says Salma Dannawi Oueida, associate vice president for development and alumni relations: “When AUB launched the Solidarity Appeal in late November 2019 to benefit current students, struggling to pay their tuition, and needy patients seeking care at our Medical Center, the Alumni Relations Office urged AUB’s worldwide alumni chapters to encourage support for the appeal. We did not expect that our alumni and friends in Lebanon to be able to do much, however, knowing that all of them were affected by the same economic circumstances that were causing hardship for so many AUB students. The FHS Chapter wanted to help, so they decided to collect donations during their annual Christmas gathering for the Solidarity Appeal. Everyone who attended the dinner on December 27 was facing their own economic and financial challenges—and still they wanted to give. That tells you something about this chapter—and about our alumni in general.”

The Health Sciences Chapter’s activities have become increasingly global in recent years. “We work to promote and support new public health initiatives to improve the health and well-being of people living in Lebanon and in every other country where our “agents of change” are placed. We all care about the issues that first led us to FHS and want to help” says Btaiche.