Impact Stories

Maghi Haidar is thriving at AUB – taking full advantage of “its high-quality education, great staff, amazing atmosphere, extracurricular activities, and peaceful environment.” She is very grateful for the opportunity to pursue a degree in computer and communications engineering at AUB, the place where “I will grow as a successful engineer and an effective woman leader.”

There are some advantages to being back on campus for in-person classes but for Maghi and many other students who travel to campus every day, it has also added a financial burden because of the dramatic increase in petrol prices. Although she receives generous support from AUB that covers 70 percent of her tuition, Maghi would not be able to attend “the university of my dreams” without the Women Leaders in Engineering Scholarship that covers 30 percent of her tuition. Even with 100 percent of her tuition covered, Maghi is still finding it very difficult to pay for her living expenses. “Worrying about this is very stressful. I try to stay focused on my studies, but it is not easy,” she says.

Maghi is hoping to land an internship at a place like Google that would lead to a job where she could work “on developing innovative solutions, like designing and developing certain pieces of technology that will facilitate people’s daily tasks.” She also dreams of establishing her own company. Whatever she does, wherever she goes, it will be somehow related to Lebanon, “my country.”