GBI took place primarily on IU’s Bloomington, Indiana, campus during July 2022 and was followed by a four-day trip to Washington, DC.

A combination of classroom learning, coaching, teamwork, social activities, and site visits to businesses and social enterprises provided students with a rich set of skills and experiences that they can employ in starting or working in a business when they returned to Lebanon. In addition, AHEAD, an IT consulting company based in Chicago, Illinois, provided funding to bring participants to Chicago for four days and three nights. GBI 2022 was based on IIB’s highly successful GBI program for students from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) that ran from 2012 through 2018. This program was funded by the US Department of State and The Coca-Cola Company.

I learned a lot when it came to the business side. However, the learning experience was not limited to the classrooms. For the first time, I learned how to properly network with the people I meet in a professional setting. Additionally, being exposed to a completely new culture has broadened my perspective and changed the way I see things.

Sara Mardini