Above photo: Mariam and Basel, two YES alumni, meet at SOAS at the University of London.

Mariam Toure (YES 2010 - 2011, Mali, hosted by Ayusa in Colton, OR)

My name is Mariam Toure. I was one of the nine Malian students selected to participate in the YES program in year 2010-2011. I was hosted in Colton, Oregon with one of the kindest women I have ever met: my host mom. To this day, we are still in touch and will be meeting shortly in London.

The program changed my life and allowed me to mature as a person and be prouder to represent my country, Mali. Seven years later, I was granted a university scholarship to study at SOAS, University of London to pursue a MA in International Studies and Diplomacy; it is a year long program. It was during a trip to Geneva, that I discover that one of my classmates, Basel Osama from Gaza, was also a YES exchange student, the same year as me, hosted in the same state (Oregon), studying a few miles away from me back in 2011, having a state representative that I frequently met, yet I had never met Basel during my stay in the U.S.

The odds that two former YES exchange students sharing so much in common would reunite seven years later in the same country, the same university, studying the same program were very little. Yet, this pleasant random reunion showcases how impactful the YES program has been and how many of us are trying to make the world a better place while still belonging to the same YES family.

YES student one day, YES student forever.