Maher Abdel Samad dove into international student advocacy at the very beginning of his Penn journey, spurred into action by a frustrating experience at the U.S. border after a 20-hour trip from Lebanon. Throughout his time at Penn, he has been driven by a passion for making the University a more welcoming and inclusive place. Maher has served as a mentor to new students, built bridges to integrate the efforts of different student organizations and offices at Penn, and acted as a voice for Penn’s international student community.
It was this dedication that drove Maher to become a student representative to Penn’s Undergraduate Assembly (UA) as a freshman in the M&T Program. During his tenure, he developed collaborative solutions such as a new international student guide. As UA’s representative on the International Student Table for Advocacy and Relations (ISTAR), Maher provided University administrators with invaluable insights into the challenges that he and other international students face, while also exemplifying the excellence of Penn’s international student community.
Maher served as President of the Penn Arab Student Society from 2017-2019, Vice President of the Lebanese Club from 2017-2019, President of the Delta Sigma Pi professional business fraternity since December 2019, Executive Vice President of the Class of 2021 and was recently awarded a Dean’s Award for Excellence by the Wharton School.
Maher’s enthusiasm for creating a welcoming environment for his peers was indispensable at a time when restrictive immigration policies and hostile rhetoric from the U.S. Government were negatively impacting international students’ sense of belonging. He has truly set the standard for global citizenship and international student advocacy at Penn, and his contributions will be felt for years to come.
