(left to right) Ayman Al-Marwani, Fatima Al-Baiti and Waad Qasim speak with children at a Sana’a orphanage

'05 Alumni Islam Abdullah, Dhia Ahmed, Emad Al-Akhali, Fatima Al-Baiti, Ayman Al-Marwani, and Mohammed Al-Seraji kicked off International Education Week by helping at AMIDEAST's open house event. During the open house, alumni helped guide visitors and answered questions about their exchange experience. The event featured a number of on-line chats: the upcoming '07 YES cohort held an on-line chat with a Middle East History class at Tabor Academy, a high school in Marion, Massachusetts and other students chatted with admissions counselors at various American universities. "I think it was very interesting talking to them and telling them about our country," said alumnus Mohammed Al Seraji. "I brought my best friend with me to this event because he was also interested in the chat with the American colleges. Our alumni group was also there and we talked to the students who came to the event and answered so many questions about our experience in the United States—they seemed very thrilled to hear about our experience first-hand."

Alumni have been promoting education in other events. At the beginning of May, '05 alumni Ayman, Fatima, Ali Al-Hada, Bushra Motahar, and Waad Qasim all volunteered at the AMIDEAST booth at the International Education Fair. They talked with students about AMIDEAST and promoted the YES program. Waad also translated for AMIDEAST staff member Jessica Andrade when she spoke to 200 students at Sana'a University on Financing Graduate Education in the US. "Waad did an excellent job," Ms. Andrade reported.

Several alumni have volunteered to work with the English Access Microscholarship Program. During this year's YES recruitment, Fatima and Mohammed gave presentations and answered students' questions about their experience in the US. In March, Ali and Ayman volunteered as tutors. The Microscholarship students and the YES alumni met three times a week to practice their English language skills.

Ali is also planning on putting his teaching skills to use this summer in his second year as an English teacher in a neighborhood school. After returning from the United States last June, Ali heard that a nearby school was

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