Graduates of the U.S. Middle East Partnership Initiative Tomorrow’s Leaders (MEPI–TL) undergo significant personal and professional growth.

This message was highlighted throughout the graduation ceremony held in their honor at the LAU Beirut campus, jointly organized with the American University of Beirut (AUB) on June 3, 2025.

The 23 LAU graduates, 21 AUB graduates, and their proud families and friends were joined by U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Lisa A. Johnson, LAU President Chaouki T. Abdallah, AUB President Fadlo R. Khuri, provosts, vice presidents, academic directors, faculty, the MEPI–TL team from the U.S. embassy and staff from both universities.

In his welcome remarks, Dr. Abdallah commended the graduates’ resilience throughout some of the toughest periods in Lebanon. Beyond resilience, he said, “the challenge remains not just to survive but to thrive, and that is what you will be expected to help us grow into.”

Dr. Abdallah emphasized that more than 80 percent of graduates earned their degrees with distinction, engaged in leadership and community service and contributed to 20+ institutions across Lebanon and the region, having cultivated leadership skills throughout the process.

Underscoring these skills and reflecting on the very founding of the MEPI–TL program as an incubator for young people who can initiate dialogue, Dr. Khuri urged the graduates to be lifelong learners. “Only when you treasure the opportunities that were given to you to learn will you be convinced to fight for the rights of others to learn,” he added.

On that score, Ambassador Johnson affirmed that “as tomorrow’s leaders, you will play a vital role in shaping the future of your home countries and societies.” She offered her sincere gratitude to the faculty and staff at both universities, as well as to the parents and families for supporting the scholars’ growth.

Congratulating the scholars who will be joining the ranks of more than 1,000 graduates of the MEPI program, the ambassador exhorted them to “drive innovation, solve the world’s complex problems and lead the change toward a better tomorrow.”

Admitting how “leadership is profoundly hard when you are displaced, grieving or afraid,” LAU MEPI-TL Executive Director Dina Abdul Rahman noted how that was the reality for most of the scholars during their university years.

However, she added, they have proven that “talent is not tied to geography, and that commitment to justice, service and excellence can grow in the most difficult soils. You have dismantled stereotypes, redefined resilience and shown us the kind of world we could live in if more people led like you did.”

For AUB MEPI–TL Executive Director Hani Hassan, it is the collective memories that will “remain the true testament of the immense mark [the scholars] have left on us, and a living goodness of [their] growth, development and success that we are celebrating today.”

Touching on the different aspects of their experiences and those memories, the undergraduate (TLU) and graduate (TLG) class valedictorians took to the podium, speaking candidly about their personal and shared stories, and the impact of the program.

Born to a Syrian father and a Lebanese mother, AUB TLG Valedictorian Omar Allahham reflected on the idea of belonging, tracing how the program, over time, gave him a sense of community. “I realized that when you do not really belong anywhere, you start dreaming about a better world where everyone belongs and where one’s value is not tied or determined by documents, but rather by ideas, values, impact and character.”

LAU TLG Valedictorian Shatoo Bakir advised her peers to embrace uncertainty as they ponder their next steps. “Let us carry with us a renewed sense of purpose where we can reimagine and rebuild our communities,” she said.

Echoing the idea of accepting uncertainty, AUB TLU Valedictorian Toros Torossian urged his peers to “move forward with determination to lead, serve and accomplish.”

Indeed, “Today is not the finish line, but proof that we have come far, grown and transformed,” declared LAU TLU Valedictorian Jad Khazem, adding: “The world belongs to optimists, who get to build, believe and invest in themselves.”