THE GIL KEMP
PR ES ID ENTIA L S CHO LARS Thanks to a landmark donation from an AUP trustee, AUP is establishing its first-ever endowment, which will fund scholarships for deserving students in need of financial aid.
LYNN ELHADJALI ’22 Lynn Elhadjali ’22 grew up in Liberia before moving to Lebanon in her teenage years. She transferred to AUP as a sophomore from the American University of Beirut. “One of the big reasons I was able to come to AUP was the scholarship I was offered,” she explains. She was drawn to the University’s environmental studies program and soon conducted an internship with an AUP professor, which included a research trip to Germany. Once settled in Paris, Lynn joined Campus
Lynn Elhadjali ’22
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UNICEF – a student-led organization working with vulnerable and displaced populations in the city – as a way to engage in community service and meet new friends. “A bulk of what shapes my experience at AUP is the social life and the close-knit community,” says Lynn. She soon joined the club’s executive board, first as an event coordinator and then as copresident. She also helped set up ReSisters,
a club encouraging all AUP students to engage with intersectional feminism. “I was able to explore what feminism means in different contexts. It helped me be more open-minded.” Through engagement with the AUP community, Lynn realized she wanted to combine her interest in environmentalism with her passion for social justice. She chose to add a second major in history, law and society. “In the future, I see myself working as a researcher doing something related to climate change and its disproportionate impact on certain groups of people,” she explains. Lynn is working on a thesis that looks at the impact of Lebanon’s water crisis on Syrian refugees in the country. “I’m looking at Lebanon as an example of potential future environmental impacts on displaced populations.” When she graduates, she plans to find an internship in human rights or humanitarian aid before eventually pursuing a master’s program.
