Al Hussein Ahmed is an electronics and communications engineering sophomore. He volunteers as a student ambassador at AUC, conducting campus tours and actively participating in community events at the University, including orientation and commencement. He is an active member of Resala AUC and the Anti-Cancer Team student organizations and is a peer moderator in the First-Year Experience program.
What drives you?
Meaning and purpose drive me. I believe I have a unique skill set that could serve a specific purpose, but I won’t discover it without trying new things. Everything I do contributes to that search, which gives my life a sense of meaning beyond simply existing.
What do you find yourself thinking about the most?
I think a lot about what comes next. Stillness without intention feels like letting life pass by. It’s not about fear of missing out but about using my time meaningfully. Days are irretrievable, and I want to have truly lived them.
How do you want to be remembered?
I want to be remembered for the work I leave behind and the impact I make, for contributing something meaningful.
What is the biggest decision you have made?
Choosing AUC has been my biggest decision so far. I had planned to pursue my bachelor’s abroad, but I chose to stay in Egypt with my family while attending a highly ranked university — allowing me to balance both personal and academic priorities.
What advice would you give to your younger self?
Pursuing perfection doesn’t always lead to it. Sometimes, tunnel vision takes away from other experiences. Repetition matters, but it reaches a point of diminishing returns. You only recognize it when you step back and see what you may have sacrificed.
From the plains of Kansas to the lush river deltas of southern Senegal, Mark Deets, assistant professor of African and world history in the Sultan Al-Qasimi Department of History and director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Center for American Studies and Research, seeks to understand how history and geography inform politics. A naval pilot turned historian, Deets has a rich diplomatic background that has helped him uncover the spatial history of West Africa, culminating in his debut award-winning book, A Country of Defiance: Mapping the Casamance in Senegal.
Wedding bells chime through AUC New Cairo once a year: the campus wedding for orphaned women hosted by Volunteers in Action (VIA), a student-run organization established in 1996 that targets the welfare of orphans in Cairo. From providing gehaz (household items) to coordinating venues and decorations, AUC students play a key role in creating a magical celebration for these brides.
“Students who participate in the VIA wedding describe it as one of the most meaningful and emotional experiences of their University journey,” said Ahmed Tawfik, construction engineering senior and VIA president. “Many are moved by the direct impact they can see — months of preparation culminating in a single day of joy for the couples. It shifts their perspective on volunteering from a task-based activity to a deeply personal experience, where they witness the tangible difference they can make in someone’s life.”
The first wedding hosted at AUC took place in 2005, supporting women who had grown up at orphanages in Cairo. At the time, the Housing and Supplies Committee noticed that many orphaned women were getting married shortly after Eid, often without the means to celebrate properly. This insight led Marwa Yahya, then head of housing, to organize a collective wedding ceremony for three brides.
Since then, the initiative has grown into a yearly tradition. The wedding itself typically includes three to five brides, with the largest wedding hosting seven. The support VIA offers also includes providing essential household items for up to 30 brides annually. The initiative has evolved from only offering material support to creating a full wedding experience.
“It is not just about meeting material needs but about restoring dignity, creating joy and fostering a sense of belonging.”
For students involved in organizing the annual wedding, the process extends far beyond a single day. They spend months prepping for the big event and securing sponsors for various aspects of the ceremony. They coordinate hair stylists, makeup artists, photographers, DJs and performers, while also supplying the household items to help couples begin married life comfortably. Through this, they gain valuable skills not only as volunteers but also as event planners and fundraisers.
“Student involvement is at the heart of the VIA wedding,” shared Mariam Elyyan, business marketing senior and VIA vice president.
While students play a central role in planning and funding the weddings, the wants and wishes of the brides remain equally important. Brides are involved in many aspects of the planning and choose elements of the setup such as dresses, styling and decor. Having a say in their wedding day helps ensure it still feels personal and meaningful.
This year, two women from Dar El Fath orphanage were married in a heartfelt ceremony on a warm evening in late March. Students shared the emotional milestone, held at The Allam Amphitheater on the New Cairo campus. The couples cut their cakes, took photos and danced long into the night.
Left and top right: VIA's wedding celebration on campus; bottom right: President Ahmad Dallal (center) with this year's married couples, their families as well as faculty adviser Dina Rateb (front row, third from right) and Dean of Students Yorgun Marcel (second from right)
“It is not just about meeting material needs but about restoring dignity, creating joy and fostering a sense of belonging,” Elyyan added. “For the wider community, it highlights the power of collective action and reinforces the importance of supporting vulnerable groups in a holistic and compassionate way.”
AUC President Ahmad Dallal also attended the ceremony, sharing his well wishes for the couples. “On behalf of the University, I would like to first congratulate our wonderful couples … wishing you a blessed and happy life together,” he said. “Second, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to Volunteers in Action, Dr. Dina Rateb and the Office of Student Life for their outstanding efforts in organizing this meaningful wedding as part of their civic engagement initiatives. Your dedication, compassion and commitment to serving the community truly reflect the values we strive to uphold.”
Vibrant streets, the loud honking of cars, the smell of delicious food filling the air — are we in Egypt or in India?
AUC students at the Mysuru Palace.
The two countries have more similarities than meet the eye, which AUC students discovered during a winter class trip to Bangalore, India as the second iteration of a partnership between AUC and Christ University for the 2026 Winter School on Inequality and Social Justice.
“India is like Egypt, 2.0,” said Nadine Fenoon, a senior double majoring in political science and journalism and one of the 12 AUC students who traveled to India. “If you dig deep, you find our similarities alongside our differences.”
By comparing their home in the Middle East to their partner university in Asia, students uncovered how institutions across the Global South can support one another, shed neocolonial structures prominent in academia and create pathways to a more self-sustaining future.
Pathways Beyond Neoliberalism
Comparative research between countries in the Global South is a cornerstone of the Pathways Beyond Neoliberalism: Voices from MENA program, a five-year global research initiative at AUC supported by a Ford Foundation grant and linked to partner universities in India, South Africa, Colombia and Mexico. The class was part of the program.
“The idea behind Pathways Beyond Neoliberalism is to become a hub of research for the Global South and address questions on the transformation of the world’s political economy,” explained Amr Adly, associate professor of political science who taught the AUC portion of the course. “Having partnerships in India allows us to expand our network of experts and gives our students valuable perspectives. This is one of the first AUC exchange programs with a genuinely Global South institution.”
Students in the course were encouraged to question prominent development paradigms and critically evaluate topics such as poverty, environmental stress, gendered inequalities and uneven access to services. By taking lived experiences from Egypt and layering them onto academic learning in India, students were able to approach cross-cultural contexts with greater nuance.
“Unlike the Global North, we don’t have much written about the Global South. There is plenty that has been written about India, but it doesn’t do justice to such a complex country. "
“We always see comparisons between North and South, which can be a problem because of the inherent divisions it creates,” said Paul Hahn, a Middle East studies sophomore who went to Bangalore to explore not only his interest in political science but also his own family’s roots in the region. “Even though Egypt and India are so different, it was really easy to talk to the other students and professors about our cultures because there is a lot of mutual understanding.”
By finding connections between their cultures, students engaged with the material in a hands-on way. They visited NGOs and animal shelters as well as attended lectures alongside Indian students. They also experienced the beauty of Bangalore, from palaces to temples bustling with life and history. Immersed in different aspects of life in India, they were able to connect more deeply with both the material and the surrounding community.
“One of our Indian professors said that the only reason we can connect is due to the shared colonial language, English,” Fenoon explained. “Yet we're both now using this language for our own sake, reaping its benefits, communicating and bringing the Global South perspective into the world.”
AUC students at Christ University.
More Similar Than Different
Beyond field trips and lectures, AUCians found the connections they made with the Indian students life-changing. “The cultural exchange was the most impactful part,” Fenoon said. “We would bring the Egyptian narrative to the table from our perspective, and they would bring in the Indian narrative. The diversity in perceptions enriched everything.”
"No matter how different we look or speak, if we put these external barriers aside, we can always find our core humanity."
While it might seem informal, knowledge sharing across countries in the Global South is an important tool in ending historical colonial structures. By analyzing their differences in economic class and religion, students examined how colonial systems have had similar impacts across nations and what has worked best for dismantling them.
“I learned the most from speaking to fellow students,” Hahn said. “Usually, we would hang out as a group and have dinner together. They would speak about their lives in India and how they view their country, politics, society and religion. I learned so much and shared a lot about my experience too.”
Over their fast-paced three weeks together, students bonded while exploring how their cultures overlapped. Family law and traffic issues were similar in both countries, while the spiciness of food was unique to India. From small details to larger cultural conversations, they learned just as much from each other as they did in the classroom. More importantly, they formed bonds that will remain strong as the program continues, with students from Christ University set to travel to AUC in Summer 2026.
Paul Hahn at Makar Sankranti celebrations.
Taking Bangalore Back to Cairo
AUC students traveled back to Egypt by the start of the spring semester with an entirely new perspective on development across the Global South.
“Students need direct experience with a country in the Global South,” Adly said. “Unlike the Global North, we don’t have much written about the Global South. There is plenty that has been written about India, but it doesn’t do justice to such a complex country. Firsthand experience is not enough, but it’s a start. You need a couple of lifetimes in order to explore everything. Traveling is so important because it doesn’t only teach you new things but also shows you the limits of what you know.”
For Hahn, the trip wasn’t only exemplary for his understanding of global development; it also helped him connect with his Indian heritage. One of the professors at Christ University shared with him a project that documents the journeys of people displaced from East Bengal, where Hahn’s grandfather is from. “It helped open my eyes to how Indians interpret colonialism and post-colonialism,” he said. “I’m really excited to get my grandfather involved in this project, and I would never have known about it without this class.”
"Traveling is so important because it doesn’t only teach you new things but also shows you the limits of what you know."
All students came away with new lessons on development in the Global South. “I learned that despite our differences, we can always find similarities,” Fenoon concluded. “No matter how different we look or speak, if we put these external barriers aside, we can always find our core humanity. Being on the ground helps you see these differences that are always mentioned in the books but are hard to understand unless you’re there. I learned so much from being in Bangalore. Where before it seemed foreign, now it seems very human.”
