Following a year of arduous preparations, 16 undergraduate scholars of the U.S.- Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) – Tomorrow’s Leaders (TL) Program presented their ideas for community development projects at the annual MEPI-TL Capstone Project Presentation Day on March 27, 2024.

Working under the mentorship of LAU academic advisors, the students tackled social, economic, medical, environmental and educational problems in their home countries across the Arab World. They investigated the root causes of these issues, with attention to the political, social and financial hurdles and developed innovative solutions using their research skills, knowledge and grit.

Standing proud in front of their poster presentations in the Adnan Kassar School of Business lobby, the scholars passionately pitched their ideas to a jury consisting of Associate Professor of Computer Science and MEPI–TL Capstone Project Coordinator Ramzi Haraty,  Associate Professor of Bioinformatics Joseph Rebehmed, MEPI Grants Program Manager at the US Embassy and LAU alumna Maya Barhouche (BS ’02), Human Rights Officer at the US Embassy in Beirut Veronica Chou and recent MEPI-TL alumnus Zohrab Abrahamian (BS ’23).

In his opening remarks at the recognition and awards ceremony that followed the capstone presentations, Dr. Haraty underscored the value of exposing students to leadership-building opportunities.

“Each one of those student leaders was encouraged to turn ideas into goals and to be creative and innovative,” he said, adding that along the way, they have shown passion, commitment and empathy, “which are all stringent and required leadership skills.”

Commending the scholars on their hard work, Barhouche advised them to “embrace this opportunity to share your knowledge among your peers and community members so that your hard work does not go unnoticed.”

To that end, a video showcasing some of the students’ capstone projects was featured at the event.

Chou also encouraged the students to benefit from the grants that are available through the MEPI Alumni Connection (MAC) program. “I hope you will all be inspired to pursue your projects to fruition once you graduate,” she added.

MEPI–TL Executive Director Dina Abdul Rahman acknowledged the scholars’ year-long effort and thanked their faculty mentors and staff for supporting them throughout the process.

At the event, the three top projects were announced and awarded seed funding to help them bring them to life.

The “Red Ribbon Initiative,” proposed by Hedi Jaza won the first prize.

Meriem Msilini’s “Beyond Bars” came second.

Yazid Boufous’ “WorkReach” followed in third position.