Leaving Syria back in 2013 was, at the time, one of the biggest challenges of our lifetime. Fleeing the country in search of a safer present and future was the fate of millions of Syrians, yet we were among the fortunate few who were granted a lifeline in the form of admission and scholarship to continue our higher education abroad. Thanks to a Jusoor-supported scholarship program at the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), we arrived in America as part of a group of Syrian students from all around Syria; we called Chicago our new home.

The opportunity we were granted allowed us to imagine and build futures that wouldn't have been possible otherwise. Syrian classmates at IIT graduated with the highest honors and went on to launch careers in engineering, architecture, tech, finance, accounting, and more, or pursue advanced education, taking on opportunities not available in Syria. And so, it was only natural that we aspired to extend the opportunities we were afforded to other deserving Syrians whose hopes and dreams were in desperate need of that one chance. SYE was born out of that collective aspiration.

SYE Initiative seeks to revive the possibility of pursuing higher education for those impacted by conflicts in Syria and Iraq, using the talents and passion of expatriates and their networks. Through our one-on-one mentoring program, we provide students with the support they need to showcase their accomplishments to gain admission to universities around the world. We are aware of both the enormous challenges students from conflict zones face, as well as the significant impact of higher education in allowing these students to realize their full potential.

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George Batah and Majed Abdulsamad
Co-Founders