At only 18 years and 11 months, Mohamad Nasrallah had already accomplished so much. A business student, he maintained a GPA of 3.9, dreamed of graduate school and wanted to establish a startup. He had built strong friendships at LAU and everywhere he went.

As the war on Lebanon intensified, Mohamad fled his home in Beirut’s southern suburbs, seeking refuge in Hamra with his sister Mirna. On September 26, they decided to go back to gather some of their belongings and collect some items to donate to the displaced, but Israel struck their building. Mohamad was killed and Mirna was severely injured, and is still recovering.

On December 10, Mohamad’s father Ali, mother Fadia, sisters Dana, Sally and Mirna and cousins were joined by his LAU family for a memorial on the Beirut campus.

His elder sister, Dana, remembered how Mohamad wanted to graduate top of his class and be selected as the commencement speaker. That she was addressing his classmates instead at his memorial brought her to tears. “Our brother and his ambitions were larger than life,” she said, noting how even though he was 10 years younger, she had always looked up to him.

For Mrs. Nasrallah, Mohamad was an idol who touched their lives and inspired others. “Though his life was short, it is a gift from God that I will always cherish, and his memory will live on forever,” she said.

Touching words of tribute were delivered by Mohamad’s friends Angelina El Zaghir, Dani Taan and Mohammad Shouman.

Al Zaghir called on her classmates to “speak his name and carry forward his life, dreams, and love, because Mohamad would have wanted us to.” Pledging to make his best friend, “Moe,” proud, Taan found consolation “in knowing that one day, we will meet again, as I will never find a friend like you.” For Shouman, strength came from “looking around and seeing that my tears are part of a collective well which pours water from your martyrdom and hope from your existence.”

Dean of Students Raed Mohsen spoke about Mohamad’s impressive academic record and his social skills. Addressing Mohamad’s friends, he said “Witnessing your resolve to strive for a better future offers us some consolation,” adding: “We can see Mohamad’s unfaltering spirit in every one of you.”