How One Exchange Semester Transformed Gheed Moussawi’s Leadership in LAU

Gheed Moussawi, a MEPI Tomorrow’s Leaders scholar, had spent her US semester at the University of Pennsylvania and this experience reshaped her understanding of leadership and community. During her exchange semester at UPenn, she found herself surrounded by a culture of ambition. Students were not just club members. They were innovators who created events that shaped conversations, built initiatives, and carried a mindset that asked one simple question: why not.

This energy left a strong impact on her. Before the exchange experience, Gheed had already served as a club president at LAU, yet her sense of what was realistically possible still had boundaries. Walking across UPenn’s campus, those boundaries shifted. “There was a freedom in how people imagined their projects,” she reflects. “It pushed me to rethink what student leadership could look like when we stopped asking for permission to dream.”

When she returned to LAU, Gheed brought that spirit with her. Her first goal was to reactivate the Think Tank Club, a student organization designed to introduce students to major developments in business, policy, and global affairs. She wanted it to be more than a club. She wanted it to become a space where students could think boldly and bring ideas to life.

To build a stronger foundation, she restructured the leadership team by creating three new positions: Heads of Marketing, Logistics, and PR and Outreach. Students signed up quickly, including three MEPI peers, Afaf Ouardi, Youssef Al Aqeeli, and Mariam Soliman. Their commitment reminded her of the collaborative energy she had seen at UPenn.

The club relaunched during registration week with almost no time for promotion, yet more than forty students officially and unofficially joined. They joined because they believed in the mission to think beyond limitations.

Despite a short semester and several unexpected challenges, Gheed and her team brought exciting activities to life. They organized a panel discussion with employees from Big Four firms, giving students rare insight into opportunities in highly competitive industries. They partnered with the Human Rights Club to host Dr. Hasan Youness for a conversation on digital freedom and algorithmic influence, a topic often overlooked among youth. Gheed moderated the session herself, an experience she had always wanted to have.

The team also planned a trip to Baalbek before finals, offering students a chance to reconnect, explore, and breathe before exam season. These events represented only a portion of what the team had imagined. Still, they managed to become one of the most active clubs on campus. “I am proud of that,” she says. “Proud of the resilience, the creativity, and the willingness to move forward even when time and resources were tight.”

Looking back, Gheed learned that leadership is about showing up when things get complicated and the team needs clarity. She learned that organization is essential because a leader who loses focus will lead a team that loses direction. She learned the value of time, the importance of early planning, and the need to stay committed even when motivation fades. Most importantly, she discovered that people do not follow tasks. They follow vision.

As she looks ahead to the next semester, Gheed carries the spirit that UPenn awakened in her, that big ideas are worth trying, that challenges can be met with courage, and that leadership grows when purpose becomes stronger. With this mindset, she is confident that more successes will come.