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STATE ALUMNI - Lebanon

The State Alumni - Your Global Online Community

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Having participated in an ECA (Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs-USA) exchange program, you are part of the State Alumni. The State Alumni is your global community: a dynamic and interactive networking experience for all past and current participants of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs.

What is State Alumni? (PDF 1.22MB)

The Lebanese State Alumni Community (LSAC)

Lebanese State Alumni Community (LSAC) is the Lebanese chapter of the Global community. LSAC serves as an umbrella association for all State Alumni in Lebanon, is the platform that enable Alumni to provide support and maintain the bond among themselves and to develop a foundation of mutual cooperation to enhance cultural awareness, promote U.S. exchange programs and aid American and Lebanese students and professionals to understand the United States and Lebanon by developing orientation programs. to register to the association send your full name, program, year, and telephone number to info@lsac-lb.org

News

Useful Information

  • In order to receive announcement and news emails from the Alumni Coordinator, Alumni are requested to register one time by filling out the Registration Form and emailing it to stephanng@state.gov.

    For your enquiries and assistance email Ms. Nancy Stephan (State Alumni Coordinator) at stephanng@state.gov

Messages from the Alumni

  • photo alumnus
    Paula Stih, IVLP 2012 alumna, Journalist

    Student
    The SUSI program has been a great experience for me on many levels. Personally, this program helped in boosting my confidence since one of the program's main goals is to get to communicate and relate with people from different backgrounds, countries and religions. I have to say that what I enjoyed most about this trip is that it was a challenging one, mainly because I didn't know what to expect. It felt more like a mission since we had to prove ourselves to others and I guess that what motivated us to keep on going. Furthermore, this program not only helped in changing the way I think about media, it helped change how I think about Americans and get to understand them more, and hopefully when I start working in the journalism field I’ll be able to change how Arabs perceive Americans and probably clear up some of the stereotypes that have been going around for years now. 
    Professionally, I've gained a lot from this trip primarily because the courses that we took dealt with issues that directly affect us, which made it more interesting.  It was very eye opening to see the differences between Arab journalism and the American journalism. Honestly, I enjoyed the courses a lot and getting to share our experiences with the professors at Washington State University was amazing. I learned a lot about the American foreign policy as well as new media. I believe that the SUSI program has been a great step for me to participate in making journalism in Lebanon better especially in the terms of broadcasting. Ghinwa Obeid, SUSI - New Media in Journalism 2011 alumna
    Student
    The SUSI program has been a great experience for me on many levels. Personally, this program helped in boosting my confidence since one of the program's main goals is to get to communicate and relate with people from different backgrounds, countries and religions. I have to say that what I enjoyed most about this trip is that it was a challenging one, mainly because I didn't know what to expect. It felt more like a mission since we had to prove ourselves to others and I guess that what motivated us to keep on going. Furthermore, this program not only helped in changing the way I think about media, it helped change how I think about Americans and get to understand them more, and hopefully when I start working in the journalism field I’ll be able to change how Arabs perceive Americans and probably clear up some of the stereotypes that have been going around for years now. 
    Professionally, I've gained a lot from this trip primarily because the courses that we took dealt with issues that directly affect us, which made it more interesting.  It was very eye opening to see the differences between Arab journalism and the American journalism. Honestly, I enjoyed the courses a lot and getting to share our experiences with the professors at Washington State University was amazing. I learned a lot about the American foreign policy as well as new media. I believe that the SUSI program has been a great step for me to participate in making journalism in Lebanon better especially in the terms of broadcasting. 
    Participating in the International Visitor Leader Program (IVLP) in January 2012 was a "turning point" in my life personally and professionally because representing Lebanon in the USA in such a big program, prepared and sponsored by the U.S. State Department, was a really big honor for me.
    During the two weeks I spent in the U.S., I met 22 foreign journalists who came from all over the world to get into the U.S. political system and to test closely the U.S. democratic system. I made 22 friends, realized how organized, democratic, and dynamic the U.S. system is and the American lifestyle and had the opportunity to assist in the primaries live from the U.S. We met presidential candidates, went into live coverage for debates and elections and had the chance to interact with American families and learn the way they live.
    The Program, which was managed by professional and respectable people, introduced me to the American world in just two weeks, it gave me an interesting background that will be really useful to me professionally in dealing with local and regional files while writing my articles in "Ashareq El Awsat" newspaper, especially since I had the chance to meet officials in the U.S. Department of State who are responsible for Lebanese and regional portfolios.
    Talking about this experience could take pages and pages but all I can say in the end is that I was so lucky to be chosen to participate to the IVLP program and I wish all journalists had such a once in a lifetime chance.