The Cycle of Empowerment

The cycle for the empowerment of young Syrians through higher education did not start with our 2-year-old initiative, it started years ago with NGOs like Jusoor, Karam, Dubarah, Basmeh&Zeitooneh, and many others who often collaborate with institutions, like Illinois Tech, Columbia University, Lebanese, Jordanian and Turkish universities, and others. Thus our Syrian Youth Empowerment initiative started not out of need, nor…

SAVE THE CHILDREN

The last 7 years of the ugly war in Syria resulted in disastrous effects on the entire country; almost all Syrians either lost their relatives, friends, homes or jobs. However, it seems that the children are the most affected class in this war. These circumstances have stunned the children’s eyes, extinguished their innocence and turned…

Graduation 2017

The staff at Illinois Tech are incredibly proud of all the Syrian students who participated in the commencement ceremony this spring. This spring ten students participated in the ceremony. Congratulations to other Syrian students who have graduated throughout North America and the world. Your journey is a testament to your strength and the strength of…

It took two flights, 14 hours, and 6,200 miles to arrive from Damascus, Syria to Chicago, IL

Omar Alhaj Ibrahim was selected as the student speaker during the Armour College of Engineering commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 13, 2017.  Omar is the third student who participated in the IIT Syrian Student Initiative to be selected as a student speaker. Below see Omar give his speech (starting at minute 28:20) and/or read the…

Empowering Our Communities Under Crisis

Over the past few decades, [the] Syrian health care system was improving substantially, from the increasing life expectancy rate to dropping infant mortality rate, and even the epidemiologic transition from communicable to non-communicable disease. Syria was also known for its proficient medical staff including men and women, which made our country a center of attraction…

Lessons of Unity and Division

As we all know, today isthe day where Donald Trump is taking charge of the U.S. presidency. A very important event in the American history. The results of the elections, whether manipulated or not, showed that about half of the American population supports a Trumps presidency, and the other portion doesn’t (regardless of the electoral college…

If I had the right to vote, I would.

To all my American friends; Don’t take these rights for granted! Please know that in some places on this Earth, people have sacrificed everything they had for the right of voting, for freedom, and for liberty. Back in 2011, Syrians had 2 options: Either live under a dictatorship, or die to get freedom and liberty….

Actions speak louder than words

On Friday, I had the privilege to speak at Columbia University Business School in a conference on Innovative Solutions for the Refugee Crisis. I was invited by a group of MBA students currently working on a new scholarship program for displaced students by Columbia for next year, and they asked me to share my story…

Students Without Borders

It’s well known that studying medicine is a stressful and hard path to take. In fact, many of us were advised not to study medicine due to its difficulty, but would anything stand against passion? With all this passion and desire to fulfill our ambitions, there must be some hardships and struggles to surpass or…

Get set… Go!

Medicine is a profession that once you wear its white coat, you can never take it off. The time schedule of a doctor as well as a medical student is always full, otherwise there’s something wrong! It’s a field that’s expanding dramatically with lots of information and knowledge amassing in relatively short time. Today, it…

Soothing Apathy: Humanness and Conflicts

If you have lived in this world for so long or have read part of the chronicles of our humanity, you might have come across the words “never again.” These words are most audible in the darkest moments of human history: the Holocaust, and the great loss of life in Cambodia, Brazil, Bosnia and the…

Setbacks and failures

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts.” Winston S. Churchill These words have always echoed in my head helping me through my toughest times. I have lived by this concept that I managed to turn every setback in my life into a comeback.  Striving for perfection,…