Scholarship Searches Benefit Young Scholars
Four bright young men and women from Egypt, Lebanon, and Tunisia are the latest beneficiaries of the Diana Kamal Scholarship Search Fund (DKSSF), an initiative that enables AMIDEAST to match highly deserving Arab youth with scholarships to pursue their education in the United States.
This year’s DKSSF scholars will begin their undergraduate studies in fall 2010 at MIT, Loyola Marymount University, and Barnard and Haverford Colleges, thanks to generous scholarship awards from these institutions.
Meet Our 2010 DKSSF Scholars
It is impossible not to be impressed by Jad El Khoury, an outstanding student from Lebanon. Jad is a born leader and passionate about making a difference. First in his class for the past 13 years, he has been able to combine his academic skills with his numerous passions and interests. He has served as class president for 10 years and excelled in a variety of extracurricular activities—including basketball, squash, drama, and music—on both the local and international levels. In addition to winning a gold medal in the national scientific competition for the last two consecutive years, Jad has participated in many social and volunteering projects such as the “Mondialogo- UNESCO Project” and “Youth Empowerment and Participation Project.”
Admitted with generous scholarships to top universities, including Harvard and Yale, this talented young man accepted a full scholarship from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to major in Mechanical Engineering.
Souha Ouni spent her early years on the island of Djerba in southern Tunisia, where she excelled at a nearby school. But as she approached the critical final years of high school, her parents — both school teachers — made the difficult decision to sacrifice in order to send her to the Mediterranean city of Sousse to attend an academically rigorous school. In addition to achieving top grades, she spent a year in Portland, Oregon, on the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program, attending Phoenix High School and living with a host family. Her community service experience while there inspired her to try out the idea in Tunisia after her return home by joining with two friends to start a project to raise money to pay for groceries for low income families during the holy month of Ramadan.
Souha received a full scholarship from Barnard College, where she plans to explore three possible majors: Environmental Studies, Psychology, and International Relations.
Mohamed Abd Alkader from Cairo, Egypt, is one of five children in a family with limited means. He scored in the 99th percentile on Egypt’s national exams and high on tests designed for American students, extraordinary feats for a graduate of Egypt’s public schools. In addition to his outstanding academics, he has demonstrated a commitment to public service, including fundraising for a major Egyptian charity organization that assists the poor.
Mohamed received a full Bruce Partridge Scholarship from Haverford College, where he plans to double major in Computer Science and Economics. He is passionate about returning to Egypt to improve his country’s educational institutions and technology industry.
Always ranking among the top students in her school, Nour Abi Samra from Lebanon graduated first in her class from high school and scored straight 800s on the French, Physics, and Math SAT Subject Tests. Her family values education highly and supports her decision to pursue her bachelor‘s degree in the United States, which will make her the first girl in her extended family to study abroad. In addition to her academic achievements, Nour was a student council leader and excelled in activities such as dancing, piano, and basketball.
Starting in fall 2010, Nour will be attending Loyola Marymount University on a combination of LMU’s Presidential Scholarship and Achievement Award that will cover most of her academic expenses. She plans to major in Civil Engineering to pursue her dream of contributing to the development of her country someday.
What is the Diana Kamal Scholarship Search Fund?
Established in 2006, the DKSSF enables AMIDEAST to undertake scholarship searches on behalf of talented, needy youth from the region. The program is relatively small and therefore only chooses students who demonstrate the highest levels of academic achievement and potential, as well as the greatest financial need. Other important qualities are character and social awareness. Click here for more information.
