Scholarship Program
Established in 2019, the Ali Ghandour Center for Leadership, Diversity and Civic Engagement (AGC) marks the first community-based learning center of its kind at the secondary school level in the region.
Jointly funded by IC and the Ghandour family, the AGC offers a scholarship program and an intensive leadership and dynamic citizenship program through a Community Engaged Learning (CEL) model.
Spread over three years, starting with the 10th grade, the program mentors students through a sequenced journey, beginning with extensive volunteering with an array of grassroots organizations and culminating with students leading Community Service Projects (CSPs). The program also exposes enrolled students to national, regional and international competitions in a wide range of fields, among them social entrepreneurship, project design, implementation and evaluation and public speaking, all with the aim of providing students with the skills and tools to become active agents of change.
Applications for the scholarship program for the upcoming three academic years are now open. For more information, please click here to be directed to the below flyer.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The Ali Ghandour Center for Leadership, Diversity, and Civic Engagement Center
The program exposes enrolled students to national, regional, and international speaker events, training programs, and competitions in a wide range of fields, among them social entrepreneurship, project design, and public speaking, with the aim of providing students with the skills and tools to learn the ethos of leadership, values of civic engagement, and active citizenship over three years:
● Grade 10 – Level 1
● Grade 11 – Level 2
● Grace 12 – Level 3
Level 1 of the AGC program will build on students' soft skills through tailored training and workshop sessions. These sessions aim to help students successfully reach leadership and civic engagement milestones, which focus on the Sustainable Development Goals. Students will also volunteer in carefully selected civic engagement initiatives.
Level 2 of the AGC program will continue building on the soft skills of student leaders; however, this level will allow students to begin experiencing a more practical approach to their new skills. They will have to assess the needs of their communities and the communities around them, plan their Community Service Projects (CSPs), pitch their project ideas, and start implementing them. Students will master project cycle management skills and design their interventions with and for the communities through a mutually beneficial relationship.
Students at this level will also pitch their project ideas to their classmates and peers, who could then join them in their missions as they implement their CSPs. With more students on board, social action projects will have the opportunity to grow and impact.
Level 3 of the AGC program is all about creating a vision and ensuring the sustainability of students’ projects. At the beginning of this level (in grade 12), students will assess the progress of their projects, communicate the recent outcomes to their peers at IC and their partners in the communities, and involve both parties in building long-term sustainability plans for their projects.
In parallel, the AGC program will expose students to local and international opportunities, encourage prosocial behaviors, and empower them to become agents of change. This will not only give them the needed skills and expertise to fulfill the admission requirements of the best universities in Lebanon and the world but will also provide them with the needed soft and personal skills to build their characters and instill in them a sense of leadership.
Speech given by
Tala Flayhan
IC AGC Class of 23
Good evening. I am a proud IC-AGC alumna, currently fulfilling my BS in architecture on a full scholarship at AUB. Five years ago, I would’ve started introducing myself by stating my name. However back then, I did not truly identify with my name for I had not yet become the me that I have always aspired to be. But now, seizing the opportunity and standing here before you after spending 3 valuable years at IC-AGC and morphing myself into myself, I can confidently say: I am Tala Flayhan and I have found my identity through the incredible support of my school and family.
For me, the age of 14 was the age where my life started to drastically change. It all started with me getting a job at a hair salon when Lebanon was under the influence of the revolution.
وقتها التغوا امتحانات ال brevet وأنا كانت أحلامي مش سايعتني، ومعي كتير وقت وفيي كتير طاقة تإسعى وحقق شي. اشتغلت لمدة سنتين. اكتسبت تجربة، تعلمت كتير قصص، وبذات الوقت تعرّضت لكتير قصص.
بيوم من اللأيام، a regular client walked in.
After washing her hair and moving to the chair, she addresses me, specifically asking about my education.
بتقلي: "تالا في برنامج بال IC عم عم يقدموا منح للتلاميذ اللي بعمرك. جربي حظك."
فكرت فيها للحظة وتشجّعت. قلت إنو ما بخسر شي إذا ّ جربت.
As I speak right now, I can recall every detail starting from the moment I decided to shoot my shot not knowing where It would lead, up until the moment I landed at IC and started anchoring my roots in the ground and branching my potential to the sky.
Summing up a 3 year-long journey in 3 minutes is a difficult task, especially since my journey is ongoing. But here’s my attempt anyway.
At first, my journey at IC as an AGC scholar was still abstract and based on imagination. However, when it started, I realized that it wasn’t that but rather the realization of a dream.
When we say IC Ali Ghandour Center for Leadership, Diversity & Civic Engagement, we’re not just using fancy words. I connected deeply with these values. When I first arrived at IC, beyond the excitement and anxiety, I felt a slight sense of alienation. Surrounded by students coming from different backgrounds, I felt like one unique ingredient in a diverse mix. Diversity started to make sense, and this initial alienation turned into appreciation for the differences around me.
During my interview I mentioned that one of my weaknesses was feeling like I don’t and won’t belong. Here’s where engagement played its part. We might be different, but we could still communicate. We might be different, but we could still find a lot of things we share in common.
I learned to see diversity as a beautiful aspect of life rather than a barrier. I gained knowledge daily, I learned to work WITH my community and FOR my community, and this continuous learning made me feel closer to being whole, building on my leadership to foster meaningful change in my society.
As I mentioned before, بس كنت اشتغل تعرّضت لكتير قصص.
في منها فادتني و قوّتلي شخصيتي، ومنها كتمتلي صوتي بس كنت بأعز الحاجة إنّو صرّخ. فأنا من بعد ما انضميت لعائلة ال IC AGC، اكتشفت صوتي من جديد.
And with the help of my colleagues, I finally got to scream and made my voice heard.
During my time at IC, AGC taught me about civic engagement, empowering me to raise my voice and lead a project called Tahaddathi. This project tells my story and resonates with thousands of other girls facing similar challenges. We partnered with teenage girls from a public school, spreading awareness about harassment through workshops and a play we created together. Out of inspiration, the 15 girls we impacted launched their own initiative. I recently joined them at their event and witnessed how civic engagement continues to amplify their voices creating a ripple effect of empowerment.
Five years ago, I didn’t want to change the world, I just wanted to see it happen.
But after 3 years of patience, hard work, knowledge, empathy and so much more, I learned that we are the change. Being an IC AGC student is a sobering experience in the most beautiful way. It taught me not to take anything for granted. It opened my eyes to what is beyond. It provided me with a support system that I will always be grateful for. It welcomed me into a family and a community that I will forever give back to. I was scared of not fitting in, but if anything, it turned my weakness into a strength and showed me the meaning of belonging.