News >Cohort 16 of the US Embassy’s Access Program Celebrates Graduation

In a crowning of their journey through the English Access Microscholarship Program, the 484 active students of its Cohort 16 in Lebanon received their graduation certificates in a memorable ceremony on Sunday 21^st April 2024.

Coming from the 25 centers spread all around Lebanon, the students converged on the Hilton Beirut Grand Hotel for a key note by the Program’s Sponsor, the US Embassy in Beirut, delivered by Her Excellency the Charge’ d’Affaires Dr. Amanda Pilz. Among the notable speakers were Dr. Khaled Fayed, Director of the Secondary Education Directorate at the Lebanese Ministry of Education & Higher Education (MEHE), Mrs. Janine Weber-el Meouchy, Executive Director of the Program’s Provider Teach For Lebanon, and George El Assad TFL’s Access Program Director. In addition, the US Embassy’s Alumni Coordinator, Ms. Elise El Khoury, shared with the students what the Embassy reserves for them as attention and support now that they’ll join the vast database of alumni of its educational programs in Lebanon.

As a measure of the importance which the US Embassy attaches to the Access Program, from Lebanon being the second largest in the world within the US Department of State’s global recipient countries, ten distinguished officials of the Embassy attended the event and interacted with the graduating students, much to all of the attending stakeholders’ delight. On hand too was the Regional English Language Officer, Ms. Lottie Baker, who flew in from her base in Amman for the occasion.

The Access Cohort 16 students received their graduation certificates on stage from US Embassy Beirut’s Charge’ d’Affaires Dr. Amanda Pilz, then lunch was served to all of the 590 guests and attendees, after which the students boarded their busses to return to their 25 different regional localities.