By Marouane Smaili, YES 2007-2008, Morocco, hosted by AYUSA in Tucson, AZ

Ten years ago I landed in the U.S. as a 17-year-old YES student, ready to experience true American culture and be an ambassador of my Moroccan culture. The experience broadened my perspectives and nurtured my ambition and determination for a better future for myself and my community. After I went back home to continue my studies. I earned a graduate degree in business and worked for a progressive non-profit organization for about 4 years. I grew conscious of community development and fond of self-growth and improvement.

My thirst for knowledge motivated me to apply for the highly competitive and prestigious Fulbright program. This year, I am grateful to have been offered a Fulbright grant administered by AMIDEAST to come back to the U.S. and pursue a Master's degree in Management at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Presently, I am enjoying graduate school at WPI and I am exploring various concepts that were once vague to me at school. My host institution WPI provides a thriving environment full of learning and fun. I have been attending several cultural events that student organizations plan on a regular basis, and have had the opportunity to meet wonderful young leaders from all over the world. I am taking three classes this semester and I am enjoying both the group projects and the level of interactive activities we do in class. Learning in this way has also helped me build new connections with interesting American and international students, which has been great.

Upon the completion of my program at WPI, I am hoping to accumulate work experience. My “medium-term” plan is to start a social enterprise that will provide low-cost consulting services to small and medium-sized companies, while offering free consulting services to non-profit organizations in Morocco.

In other exciting news, being back in the U.S. gave me the opportunity to visit my YES host family in Tucson for the first time since 2008! I experienced a plethora of positive emotions that resurfaced in different colors and shades when I finally saw them again.