In a rare moment, where feelings show themselves and astonishment mixes with joy, student Lynn Karaki, a student at Al-Rahma Secondary School of the Al-Mabarrat institutions, stood on the threshold of a great achievement she had long dreamed of. After a school year full of challenges, displacement and forced moving about, she was able to take first place at the level of Lebanon in the sociology and economics stream, with an honourable average of 18.9, proving that determination and self-belief are capable of making the impossible happen.
Lynn says, with the marks of pride running ahead of her words: “The feeling cannot be described. It is a mixture of joy, astonishment and relief. When I learned that I had come first, I felt as though all my feelings had exploded inside me. I kept repeating to myself: can it really be that I have got here?”
But this achievement was not born of chance; it was the fruit of a clear determination from the very first day of the final year. Lynn explains:
“From the start of the school year, I set a clear goal in front of me: to be among the top students. That dream never left me, and it was a basic motive for me to study and persevere, despite all the circumstances we faced.”
Things did not go smoothly. The features of the school year soon changed as security tensions escalated, which forced Lynn and her family to leave their area for the Mountain, and then for the North, specifically the area of “Minieh”. There she continued her studies amid extremely difficult circumstances, moving between remote learning with her home school “Al-Rahma Secondary School” and in-person study at “Minieh Islamic School”.
“It was a new and difficult experience. I was afraid of the change, especially under these circumstances, but the new school's administration and the teachers were understanding and supportive to the utmost degree, and they embraced me as though I had been one of their students from the beginning,” Lynn says.
Despite these difficulties, Lynn did not stop striving; rather she sought to benefit from every available resource, and the “Shater” educational platform had an important role in supporting her during the period of preparing for the examinations.
She adds: “The Shater platform was beside us the whole time, especially in working through model papers and preparing for the official examinations. I think every certificate student benefited from it in one way or another.”
Lynn believes that success is not made on its own, but is the product of a nurturing and motivating environment, and so she did not forget to thank everyone who supported her on her educational journey, saying: “I offer my deep thanks to Al-Rahma Secondary School, and to Ms. Sulaf Hashem, who was a support for me in the hardest moments. I also send a greeting to every teacher who accompanied me from my beginnings, from kindergarten through to the terminal year. This success is the fruit of their labour and their dedication.”
As for her university ambition, Lynn affirms that she intends to enter the faculty of business administration, with a focus on the finance specialization, pointing to the importance of this field in our present reality. She says: “Our societies today need to shine a light on the economic and financial specializations, because they play a basic role in the rise of nations. We need to build a strong economy and to achieve real development.”
Closing her remarks, Lynn addressed a sincere message to certificate students in the coming years, saying: “Set your goal from the start, and believe that you are able to reach it. Do not let circumstances weaken you, for every challenge is an opportunity to prove your strength. We can do it, and we will remain able to, whatever the obstacles.”
Lynn Karaki's experience is not merely a story of academic excellence; it is living testimony that will makes the road, and that light may be born from the heart of darkness, when we hold fast to hope and turn the dream into reality.
Lebanon Students website
