communications's blog

Jen Smith, Amideast's Director for Workforce Development & Entrepreneurship, answers questions about Amideast's work in the region.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Growing up in Gaza under near-constant warfare and severe restrictions on border crossings, Haneen Shaath never had the opportunity to travel the world as she always wanted to. That all changed when she received a scholarship through the Fulbright Foreign Student Program, an award that enabled her to enroll in a master’s program at the Penn State School of International Affairs (SIA) in fall 2022.

As our Senior Director for Exchange Programs, Steven Keller, put it, “Exchanges help students develop the ability to reciprocate and exchange with others, to appreciate diversity, and to develop the global perspective that they’ll need to address 21st-century challenges.” Dr.

Emtinan and Abdullah were nominated by Amideast’s new Qisasna partner, the Deaf Care and Rehabilitation Society–Aden, and Qisasna was their first-ever international exchange experience. It proved to be a life-changing one.