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Sima Bou Jawde was named as the 2020 Usama Al Khalidi award recipient in an on-line ceremony. Sima is a shining example of academic excellence, intellectual curiosity, public service and commitment to the arts. In her time at AUB, Sima was an active member of the Biology student society, student council, theatre club, and teaching English as second language for refugees, a volunteer activity she had been committed to since her days in high school.

Sima participated in both local and global research projects, with a focus on refugee health, nutrition and antimicrobial resistance. She also holds a minor in creative writing, and hopes to combine the science and the arts for the betterment of society.

Passionate about health equity in the Middle East, since graduating Sima has obtained a masters degree in public health from Boston University and is continuing her PhD in Population Health focusing her research on community mental health and refugee health.

Peter Kfourywas named the recipient of the 2019 Usama al-Khalidi Award at AUB’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences on 28 May 2019. A multi-talented student, Peter has maintained a wide range of academic and extracurricular interests. In the Spring of 2019, Peter graduated with distinction, earning a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a minor degree in Philosophy, combining his love for the sciences with his passion for the arts and humanities.

While at AUB, Peter pursued a research internship in Organic Chemistry under the mentorship of Dr. Kamal Bouhadir, at the Department of Chemistry. He has worked on the synthesis, purification, and identification of pyrine cyanuric chloride - derived compounds.

Since October 2018, Peter has been elected as an FAS member of the Student Representative Committee at AUB. He has served to improve student life on campus by organizing the annual gala and proposing access to commodities needed by the students.

Peter has been playing the piano since he was eight years old, and has subsequently joined the Lebanese Conservatoire to polish his skills and learn classical music. He has also taught himself how to play the harmonica, which he especially enjoys performing around scout campfire gatherings.

Peter has been very active in extracurricular activities both on and off – campus, and has regularly volunteered with groups that work with children and youths. For the past two years, he has volunteered in GSF MENA an organization that provides free surgeries for patients with cleft lips and palates. He has been meeting with patients and writing their stories, participating in fundraisers, missions, and conferences, and coordinating the NGO’s exposure during Beirut Marathon events.

Serving as boy scouts leader and chief for several years, Peter has been actively involved in mentoring children and adolescents by organizing weekly reunions around pedagogical games and talks, arranging encounters with the children of SOS in Bhersaf, and organizing music recitals with the Step Together Association, an organization that integrates people with special needs into the community.

In his own words, “by giving, I have also gained valuable life skills including creativity, team work, and time management.”

Peter has enrolled in the fall of 2020 to study medicine at AUB and hopes to become a pediatrician in the future.

May Abiad was the recipient of the 2018 Usama al-Khalidi Endowed Award in a beautiful ceremony at the Green Oval in AUB on 6 June 2018. May majored in Biology at AUB maintaining a stellar academic record with a 4.0 GPA and MCAT scores in the 98th percentile worldwide.

During her undergraduate years May was actively engaged in research initiatives and has recently submitted two co-authored research manuscripts to academic journals. May volunteered as an undergraduate research assistant in the lab of Dr. William Kutteh, Director of Fertility Associates of Memphis center in Tennessee. She is the first author on a case control study questioning the necessity of screening for celiac disease markers in women with recurrent pregnancy loss, using previously collected data from 698 patients. May also volunteered as a student researcher in the lab of Dr. Farah Naja in the Department of Nutrition and studied the effect of the Lebanese diet on the health of mothers and their children. They wrote a paper concerning the interaction of various characteristics and their effect on recruitment and participation of pregnant women in research. Over the past year, Ms. Abiad worked with Dr. Bree Akesson (PI) and Dr. Tony Hoffman in a mixed-methods study of mobility and well-being of Syrian refugee families in various areas of Lebanon. The purpose of the project was to better understand the experiences of these families who have faced trauma related to torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and child abuse.

Beyond the academic sphere, May has demonstrated commitment to community service initiatives. She has volunteered as an English Instructor and substitute Math teacher at the Children's Cancer Center. May was also assigned as supervisor of the Health and Services Team of the Connect Initiative, a program initiated by the Kayani foundation that implements Saturday activities for Syrian refugee children. Each week, May was asked to design a fun health-related activity for 75 adolescent girls of different ages at the Malala II school.

May is also skilled as an artist, a writer and a pianist. Using art as a form of expression and solace she has produced art works using graphite, charcoal, pastel, watercolor, acrylic, and oil. Her short story titled Shattered Visages, draws from her experiences while teaching Syrian refugee girls at the Malala II girls school and her research experience interviewing refugee families. It was published in the literary journal, Rusted Radishes. May started learning piano at the age of 8, and her love for it has only grown since.

According to the Biology Department “Although theDepartment often has outstanding individuals among its student body, May stands out even among all those wonderful people. If I were to say just one sentence about her, it would be: ‘We are honored and proud as faculty members to have known her, taught her and learned from her’.”

Farah Ismail Alloush was the 2017 recipient of the Usama al-Khalidi award. An exceptional student of biology, she was on the Dean’s Honor List during her entire undergraduate career at AUB. Farah is enrolled at the AUB Medical School for the fall of 2017.

Multitalented, Farah’s achievements don’t end at her 4.0 GPA. She is also a performer, having acted and directed in theatre productions in school and university. In 2016, she was among the directing and acting team of a play called “Victor Fair”, and has taken part in the annual 7akawati competition in Hamra. Farah also contributes to the literary journal “Rusted Radishes”.

But to really understand Farah Alloush, you have to look at her long list of voluntary and charity work, a mark of dedication and commitment to serve her community. Among her many activities are her fundraising efforts for SOS Villages, the Foyer St. Georges retirement home, the Fanar juvenile penitentiary, and "Dalia Wel Teghyir”, an organization that supports the remodeling of underprivileged households. Farah has also led a campaign in support of the Medical Missions for Children Organization that provides free surgery for children born with cleft lip, and has supported the activities of “Maakom” an organization that aims to reduce school drop-out rates in Tripoli through after school programs.

A renaissance woman who truly embodies the spirit of Usama al-Khalidi. Mabrouk Farah!

BRIGITTE KAZZI

Brigitte Kazzi’s academic accomplishments are impressive. She has consistently maintained a high GPA and has been on the Dean’s honor list throughout her school and university years. Brigitte is fully fluent in English, Arabic and French and has begun to learn Mandarin and Spanish. Beside her intellect, Brigitte has been an active member of many community service and advocacy groups lobbying for an end to gender based violence and abuse with Kafa, supporting environmental awareness and recycling initiatives with Recycle Lebanon, and supporting efforts to encourage the use of renewable energy through GreenPeace. Brigitte was also an active volunteer at the St. Jude’s Children Cancer Center supporting young cancer patients and their families.

In her high school years, Brigitte managed the Islamo-Christian Tolerance Project and organized camps for students from other religions to foster greater understanding. As a scout chief, she organized camps, hikes, talent shows and supported the reconstruction of neighborhoods in Ashrafieh damaged by shelling. She also mentored young adults on a wide range of social issues, including corruption, rape, and tolerance.

With a passion for medicine, Brigitte joined the medical research volunteer program at the AUB Medical Center and worked with Dr. Samia Khoury on research related to the effect of vitamin D on multiple sclerosis. She also spent some time at King Faysal hospital shadowing Dr Bahaa Fadel from the cardiology-radiology department. Brigitte will be attending Columbia University’s School of Medicine in the Fall of 2016.

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HABIB EL-KHOURY

A scholar, an actor, an athlete and a volunteer for various charities, Habib El-Khoury has been an honour student throughout high school and has recently graduated with honors from AUB’s Biology Department. He is fully fluent in Arabic, English and French. During his time at AUB, Habib acted as a Medical Research Volunteer supporting Dr. Hassan Chami on a clinical research project exploring steroid administration in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients undergoing elective surgery.

In his senior year at AUB, Habib acted as President of the Biology Student Society (BSS) where he led a number of charity initiatives, including raising funds to help SOS Villages secure gifts and food units for children at Christmas time. Through the BSS Habib also helped a local NGO renovate a house for an underprivileged family in Beirut. Also, during his high school years Habib volunteered for Arc En Ciel, an NGO that helps orphans and low-income children, and Deir Mar Mansour.

Since his years at the International College (IC), Habib has been passionate about the theater and about acting. In addition to acting in such classics as Molière’s, Le Médecin Malgré Lui and Le Malade Imaginaire, Habib also wrote scripts and prepared scenes and decoration for theater sets. As recipient of the Most Distinguished Theater Student award at IC, Habib continued to support and encourage theater students during his university years, assisting in the restructuring of the theater curriculum, and supporting the theater formation of younger students at IC.

Habib is also a football (soccer) player having played for the Varsity team in highschool and the federal team for under-21 for Racing Football Club. Habib will be attending AUB Medical School in the fall of 2016.

On 27 May 2015, in a beautiful outdoor ceremony at the Green Oval in the American University of Beirut, the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences announced the inaugural winner of the Usama al-Khalidi Award. Mohammed Malek Saleh truly exemplifies Usama’s spirit. A graduating Biology major, Mohammed has an exceptional academic record consistently ranking among the top students in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Beyond his excellent academic record, the high distinction and the honors, Mohammed is an active member of his community and an advocate for social justice. He has been a volunteer with the Lebanese Red Cross Club in AUB where he helped organise fundraisers, collect clothes, and organise blood donations among other activities. Mohammed has also been an active member of the subcommittee of the Women’s Rights Club on campus. Mohammed says he believes in the importance of raising awareness against the increasing cases of domestic violence in Lebanon, and has taken part in a number of talks in schools across Lebanon where he had the chance to speak to teenagers and children about the importance of gender equality.

Mohammed’s other talents include his passion for the arts, where he has shown promise as a painter expressing himself with paint and his brush. A few of Mohammed's paintings are shown here.

But perhaps the most exceptional of Mohammed’s many traits is his positive personality and his fighting spirit. Mohammed had been suffering from painful headaches for years, and during the Spring Semester of his Junior year at AUB, Mohammed was diagnosed with a potentially debilitating aneurysm in one of his three main cerebral arteries. The aneurysm ruptured only hours before his planned surgery resulting in massive haemorrhage. Following a slow recovery over the summer, doctors diagnosed another aneurysm and Mohammed had to undergo a second non-invasive surgery. Despite the odds, Mohammed has thankfully made a full and complete recovery. The surgeries and the recovery time did not seem to affect Mohammed’s determination, and he was able to get exceedingly high scores on his MCATs. He also took on his final undergraduate year with the same dedication and commitment, continuing to excel in his studies, to volunteer his time to the community and to explore his passion for the arts. Mohammad says he has done the maths, and his chances for a full recovery were less than 1%. He says he is grateful for the chance that he has been given.

Mohammed’s plans for the future include Medical School at AUB, after which he is thinking of specialising in Oncology. We would like to wish Mohammed the very best for a bright career and a future full of promise and innovation.