Ashraf is a planetary scientist from Tunisia. Amideast supported his undergraduate education at Williams College through the MENA Scholarship Support Fund. He’s currently a PhD Student at the University of Chicago. 

In 2018, as an engineer with an internship at General Electric in Algeria, Chakib Khechai was contemplating his future. His work ethic and ambition had impressed his supervisor and she suggested something bold: pursuing a graduate degree in the United States through an exchange program like Fulbright. At the time, Khechai considered his internship at GE to be the biggest professional accomplishment of his life; he hadn't considered that would be just the first step in a successful career in business.

I’ve always had an interest in better understanding legal frameworks and been passionate about space and sciences. Today, I work at the intersection of the two. I’m a remote sensing scientist between Harvard Seas the Center for Astrophysics, and the Environmental Defense Fund on the MethaneSAT project. I’m an aerospace engineer by training – I did my Bachelors, Masters and PhD at MIT. What I’m passionate about is space policy and space ethics.

I see myself as a peace steward and cultural ambassador for humanity. It all began at 15, when I decided to learn English with Amideast, and then in 2010, during my exchange year with the YES program. Living in Kansas, I quickly learned how human connections break down misconceptions about where we come from. This inspired my mission. I dreamed of traveling across the U.S. on a Greyhound bus, engaging with people everywhere.

During my first English class at the language center, which is managed by Amideast, we were asked to talk about a moment that changed our lives, be it for the better or for the worse. At that time, I was dealing with some family issues that had me on the edge emotionally. So when Ms. Jolene asked me to stand up and share my story, it was the first time in my life that I felt okay with being vulnerable in front of a group. I broke a barrier that day and overcame a deep-seated fear. I was one person before that exercise, and someone else entirely after it. It impacted me profoundly...

As a Google Developer Student Club leader, I’m excited to build a community for computer science and business students, helping them learn essential skills. I want to give back to everyone who’s supported me, starting with Amideast, where as an MSSF scholar, I always felt like part of a community.

Both of my parents were journalists in Egypt and I’ve always been curious about exploration. This sparked my interest in astronomy and film. I was in a STEM high school and fascinated by astrophysics – matter and galaxies – all of which tell the stories of the universe. At the same time, I was doing documentary work on the streets of Cairo and connecting to people through film and photographs. 

In the quiet town of Gresham, Oregon, my journey into sports began unexpectedly. My American host family lived and breathed athletics. My host mother coached volleyball, my host father coached softball, and my three younger host sisters were all involved in different sports. I had never been part of this world before, but they welcomed me into it fully.