by Dalia Al Nimr

This is perhaps one of the most enjoyable issues we’ve worked on — and at the same time, one of the most difficult. Enjoyable because it’s so fulfilling to see many alumni in different fields making it to the top, breaking the mold or initiating positive change. Difficult because we have almost 40,000 alumni success stories and can’t possibly capture them all. We’ve tried to include a representative group that would showcase how special our alumni are and how they stand out. In the end, AUC is proud of all of its alumni who are making an impact wherever they go. You are all ambassadors of AUC.

Alumni of the Century — that’s the name we’ve chosen for this second Centennial Special Edition. We’ve solicited alumni nominations for this issue around a year ago and received a lot of feedback. It was a challenge filtering through them all, but we’ve included alumni of different decades, professions and interests — dividing this issue into eight categories.

The business category highlights those at the helm — CEOs and heads of banks — but also budding entrepreneurs who reaffirm the belief that even your wildest dreams can become a reality if you put your mind to it. In the government category, we have heads of state, diplomats, ministers and governors — the voice of the people. The news category spotlights Pulitzer Prize winners, authors, TV hosts, journalists and international correspondents, including those who cover conflict zones — putting their lives at risk — to seek out and expose the truth. In science and technology, we’ve highlighted our tech- setters who are making scientific and technological advances that change the way we live. In sports, we’ve looked at record-breaking mountain climbers, Olympians and top-ranked world champions (My jaw drops every time I think of the feats they’ve accomplished). In education and empowerment, we not only look at university presidents, professors and educators making a difference in the way we learn, but also those who empower women (the latter ended up being all women, but we’re sure there are men who do the same). The service and philanthropy category highlights the selfless givers who do good in this world. It’s always inspiring to hear stories of people whose entire lives are dedicated to serving others — whether refugees, the differently abled and youth — or taking care of our environment. Finally, we have the media masters and celebrities: actors, directors, singers (including opera!), and fashion and jewelry designers.

Don’t forget to check out our back cover for AUC’s oldest living alum — a successful journalist, writer and professor.

We hope you enjoy this issue and, more importantly, hope that you share your alumni success stories for us to highlight them in different AUC channels. The print version of this magazine is just one channel with limited space, but keep sending us your success stories (and feedback on this issue please) at auctoday@aucegypt.edu or on the AUC website at auc100.aucegypt.edu. And keep #MakingAUCProud.