My name is Ahmad Al-Fakeer, a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon. I finished the International Baccalaureate program at Red Cross Nordic United World College in Norway. I got accepted with a full scholarship at Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina. In my freshman year at Methodist University, I was not fully focused on studying, I spent a lot of time playing sports and socializing with people. I did not meet the required GPA to keep my full scholarship, so I lost a portion of it.
In my sophomore year, I paid more attention to studying and focusing in classes to increase my GPA and return my scholarship. I thought after I get my scholarship back I don’t have to pay the money I lost, but I actually had to. I had to look for scholarships or people that could help me pay the debt. I started asking people about scholarships, and one of the people told me, “I might know someone who could help you.” He said, “Try the founder of Leonard Education Organization. Why don’t you add her on Facebook and tell her your story.”
I contacted Deya’ and she told me about Leonard Education Organization (LE•O). It is an organization that helps Palestinian students from Gaza, Lebanon, West Bank, and Jordan with undergraduate scholarships and education opportunities. After I told Deya’ my story, she was very helpful and told me, “We are going to help you because we see that you improved your grades and you are working hard.”
Without the help of LE•O and the donor they found, I would not have been able to graduate and receive my diploma, with a GPA of 3.34. I will be grateful for LE•O and will do my best to support this organization in the future. I never lost hope in this world because I know there are people that still think about helping others and making some people’s lives better. I want to thank LE•O not only for helping me, but for helping all Palestinian students that are looking for education opportunities and undergraduate scholarships to have a better future.
THANK YOU LE•O.