The youngest of three boys, Yousef al Yousef left Aleppo, Syria at the age of 15 in 2015 following his older brothers in pursuit of safety and a better future. 

Yousef applied to Karam’s scholarship program to pursue a degree in Quantum Computing. “When I put my mind into something, I do it as if I’ve already got it. I spent days preparing my application for the scholarship. And even though in the application they did not ask for any certificates I added a section including all of the certifications I gained. I am not showing off but I am proud of myself and wanted Karam to see that.” 

Besides Karam Scholarship, Yousef applied for the Erasmus Scholarship and the Farabi Scholarship, scholarships to study abroad. And even though Yousef received both of the scholarships, he wasn’t able to take the Erasmus Scholarship to study in Spain due to his refugee status. So he took the Farabi Scholarship in Turkey. 

Yousef joined Karam in 2019-2020 but when he first heard about Karam and Karam’s programs, Yousef was very eager to learn more. “Karam Studios are very unique. This is a wonderful opportunity for refugees, especially those who are coming from Syria. This is one of a kind experience. I encouraged all of my younger cousins who are under 18 to register for Karam studios.” 

Last year, we wrote Building a Robot; a Young Scholar’s Dream Becomes Reality about Yousef’s project that he worked on at Karam. But ever since, Yousef accomplished so many more things. Among those things are: He founded STF (Students Tech Forum) to teach and help students interested in Tech and Quantum Computing. He held Zoom sessions for Syrian refugee students to understand and navigate their way around the necessary Turkish exams they need to take before joining the university, such as Tomer, and Yos. He worked part-time as a translator (Arabic – Turkish). He also did field volunteer work with Syrian refugee families in Turkey among so many more. 

“Even though Karam requires us to complete 48 hours of volunteer work. But volunteering for me became something I want to do, not something I need to do. However, without Karam, I wouldn’t have known that desire of helping others and teaching them what I know.”

The next step in Yousef’s life is to get a Master’s Degree in Quantum Computing. “If I can’t go this year, then I will work to save money. Maybe start a startup company and then later go back to school.” 

And Finally, when we asked what Yousef would say to Karam he said. “Thank you for being here for us, the community, and most importantly for working for a better future for Syrian students. Thank you for everything you’ve done, and are doing. It has a huge impact on us.”