By Nazih Raychouni (YES 2014-2015, Lebanon, hosted by AFS-USA in Wichita, KS)

We met at the airport.

They were the loveliest people I’ve ever met in my life, and they took me in as their own.

As the months passed by, I learned how to engage as an adult in the community. I developed a passion towards volunteering. I learned how to swim professionally and compete regionally.

Saying goodbye was not easy, but it wasn’t a goodbye. It is a ‘see you later.’

And I am here where I never saw myself before. One day, I will graduate as a nurse from one of the top universities in the region on a full ride scholarship. Because of my passion and dedication to YES, I was elected to becoming the YES president. 

 Well done, Nazih!