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Holidays the YES Way with Alumni in Lebanon

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Photo: YES alumni playing the YES passport bingo game

The holiday season is all about time with friends and loved ones, and what better way to do it than spending an evening with seventy of them!

On December 27, seventy YES alumni in Lebanon came together for the annual alumni board elections for the year 2018. It was the perfect time for alumni to catch up and choose their representatives for the board. Alumni from most YES cohort years were present, including an alumnus from the very first cohort, 15 years ago!

Lebanon Alumni At Board Elections

The event kicked off with a fun bingo game called “YES Passport Bingo” where each alumnus/a was handed a passport-shaped card called a “YES passport.” Inside the card were five YES-related questions about their own experiences on program for the alumni to answer and then go around the room to find five different alumni that share the same answers with him/her. This was a fun opportunity for the alumni to learn more about each other’s experiences on the YES program. The alumni were then warmly welcomed by AMIDEAST staff and the Cultural Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut.

Outgoing alumni president Souheir Ghozayel (YES 2007-2008) shared stories of last year's achievements; thanking everyone who had a role in making the past year a memorable one. Following her speech, the two presidential candidates, Sarah Rifai (YES 2010-2011) and Ali Hallal (YES 2013-2014) participated in a debate where they addressed four topics submitted in advance by alumni. During the debate, alumni had the chance to ask both presidential candidates questions.

Presidential Candidates

Once the debate was over, it was time for alumni to submit their votes, and enjoy a group dinner while ballots were counted. Because each vote matters, an online voting system was offered to those who couldn’t attend the gathering. Altogether there were 94 online voters and 70 alumni who voted at the event: talk about active engagement!

As dinner came to an end, results of the election were announced and the YES alumni celebrated the election of the new president and board members with a Christmas-themed Pictionary game.

So without further ado, here are the new president and board members of the YES alumni network in Lebanon for the year 2018:

  • President: Sarah Rifai (YES 2010 - 2011)
  • Beirut Regional Coordinator:  Nazih Raychouni (YES 2014 - 2015)
  • Bekaa Regional Coordinator: Sarah Jaroush (YES 2014 - 2015)
  • Mount Lebanon Regional Coordinator: Adham Nasr (YES 2010 - 2011)
  • Metn & Keserwan Regional Coordinator: Guadaluna Chaer (YES 2013 - 2014)
  • South Lebanon Regional Coordinator: Hoda Al Hawari (YES 2015 - 2016)
  • North Regional Coordinator: Sandra Sleiman (YES 2012 - 2013)
Elected Officials
Newly elected alumni board members, from left to right, Guadaluna Chaer, Hoda Al Hawari, Nazih Raychouni, Sarah Rifai, Sandra Sleiman, Adham Nasr, and Sarah Jaroush.

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