The U.S. Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI)-Tomorrow’s Leaders Program 2026 cohort at LAU surpassed their scholarship requirements, collectively graduating with a cumulative GPA of 3.5, completing around 4,000 hours of community service, co-authoring research papers, and partaking in competitions, workshops, and internships. They did so while having to move on short notice between the Beirut and the Byblos campuses and transitioning from in-person to online learning, amid devastating uncertainties.   

They prevailed in every sense of the word and were honored on June 15, 2026, at a joint graduation ceremony with their peers at the American University of Beirut (AUB). The event was attended by the Chargé D’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Keith Hanigan, Interim Vice President for Student Development and Enrollment Management, Raed Mohsen, AUB Provost, Zaher Dawy, Assistant Provost for Educational Resources and Innovation Jordan Srour, AUB MEPI-TL Director Hani Hassan, LAU MEPI-TL Executive Director Dina Abdul Rahman, and members of the MEPI-TL team from the U.S. Embassy, faculty, staff and proud parents.

Addressing the graduates, Dr. Srour commended them for “[working] hard to overcome the possibility of failure and realize the probability of success,” and urged them to “go forth and embrace the thrill of possibilities that await you in this ever-changing world as you join a community of over 1,000 LAU Tomorrow’s Leaders alumni.”

Noting how AUB and U.S. MEPI-TL share the vision of “preparing students to become leaders, impactful and empowered citizens,” Dr. Dawy expanded on the definition of leadership, borrowing from Lebanon’s iconic diplomat Charles Malek: “You must have a message to proclaim to others; you must mean something in terms of ideas and attitudes and fundamental outlook in life; and this something must vibrate with relevance to all conditions of men and women.”

On this note, Hanigan shared the belief underpinning the MEPI-TL program: “When talented young people are given access to high-quality education and the chance to grow, they do not just improve their own futures, but they transform the world around them.”

Illustrating this idea, he told the graduates, who come from 12 different countries, that they “are united by a shared commitment to excellence, service, and the conviction that leadership can build a better future.”

“This program does not run on funding alone,” declared Dr. Abdul Rahman, “It runs on courage—the courage of our students.” She gave several examples from this cohort of undergraduate and graduate scholars, some of whom graduated with a perfect GPA of 4.0, lent their support to 240 displaced families, volunteered, presented at a national healthcare congress, and ran an NGO in one of Iraq’s most conflict-affected regions.

“These are not extraordinary exceptions,” she affirmed. “They are the ordinary standard of this cohort.”

Referencing the central theme in Alice in Wonderland, Dr. Hassan dwelt on the idea of believing in the unimaginable. “I have seen you, time after time, as you looked at the impossible and made it possible,” he said to the graduates, urging them to stay true to their ambitions even after “waking up to find themselves out of Wonderland”—the analogy Dr. Hassan used to describe their university years.

Following the distribution of certificates, the ceremony featured a panel discussion by the class valedictorians of both AUB and LAU.