The Lebanese Collegiate Network: Galvanizing the Future of Lebanese America
“A rich mosaic of perspectives and communities in such a small place, coming together,” observed Ronney Shantouf, a Lebanese American physician, as he walked through Beirut’s trendy Gemayze District. Like the thousands of other Lebanese young adults crawling up and down the raucous avenue, Shantouf’s summer return to his country of origin is a chance to reconnect with “my community, and home.” Yet, the Lebanese Collegiate Network (LCN), an organization established by University students in California, is seeking to replicate that distinct, Lebanese community for students and young adults without having to fly across the Atlantic.
While the metropolitan Detroit area serves as the nerve center of the Lebanese American community, its arteries stretch far into every corner of the country. This is vividly represented in the LCN, which identifies colleges and universities as the focus of its expanding community. Working closely with Lebanese student clubs, the LCN is driven by a: “vested interest in cultivating, creating, and conserving University Lebanese Clubs, as well as supporting, connecting, and developing students and alumni associated with these clubs.” While the LCN is committed to fostering a community among Lebanese American students and professionals, it also welcomes individuals of all ethnicities and backgrounds.
The LCN’s founders, Serge Haddad, Diana Ayoub, and Karim Khoury strategically identified education as the “great galvanizer” of the diverse Lebanese American community. In line with this mission, the LCN has actively traveled throughout the United States, particularly Michigan, where it has established itself with the University of Oakland, the University of Michigan’s Dearborn and Ann Arbor campuses, Wayne State University, and other schools. This year’s LCN National Conference will in fact be held in Rochester, on the campus of UO, which won the bid at the 2010 conference at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB).
Shantouf, a UCLA Medical School graduate and medical consultant for Write Track Admissions, attended the USCB conference. He mentored aspiring physicians, held admissions workshops, and discovered the community he longed for by merely driving two hours north of his Los Angeles home. Creating community, and providing a forum where professionals, students, and young adults can network, is the driving spirit of the LCN.
In addition to highlighting education, the LCN is expanding its scope to integrate young professionals, like Shantouf, under its umbrella. This is a focal objective of current LCN President Sevag Sislian: “Many of our student members are graduating and looking for continued support as they develop professionally. In response, we will focus on a new initiative… suited for professionals.” Facilitating opportunities for Lebanese American professionals to network and share resources, indeed, is a necessary phase toward expanding the community at home.
One of the first steps of the LCN’s professional initiative, not surprisingly, is an event being held this coming Thursday, October 7th, in Birmingham, Michigan. In its inherent spirit as a “catalyst of community,” the LCN along with the Lebanese Heritage Club, Lebanese University, and Arab Detroit an “Alumni Professional Mixer” at Chen Chow Restaurant. The mixer is expected to convene hundreds of professionals, from different sectors and industries, as well as local university students. The event is also expected to create momentum for forthcoming professional mixers all over the country.
The LCN is successfully building a national community of students, universities and professionals that vividly reflects Lebanon’s rich diversity, and transcends beyond the rifts that prevail in Lebanon.
Learn more about the LCN by visiting its website at: www.lebanesecollegiatenetwork.org, becoming a member, and experiencing it in person, without having to pay for the $1500 flight, at Chen Chow in Birmingham this coming Thursday.
Khaled Beydoun
Arab Detroit