Meet Samir Ghandour '17
Meet SAMIR GHANDOUR Class of 2017, a young graduate with many dreams to fulfill and a determination to embark on the world with a vision based on self-growth, proper research and an impeccable awareness of the requirements needed to follow his dreams. An Alumni who signifies challenge, venturing to the world at a young age with dreams of success and a calculated approach to conquer the world.
Samir graduated from IC with an International Baccalaureate degree (IB), and continued his studies in Boston, at Bentley University in Waltham, MA. Samir graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Data Analytics, a double minor in Finance and Business Studies. He completed his degree with distinction “Cum Laude.”
During his time at Bentleys, Samir founded the ‘Arab Student League’, a team of Arab students responsible for integrating the Arab community within the Bentley community. He created this league as a reflection of his roots thinking it would be cool toshare his culture with a diverse community in Bentley and show the beautiful image he carried of Lebanon and IC with him. In Samir’s words, “a drive that always guided me was giving back to my community”, and this by itself encouraged him to create that league where he would organize events that had Lebanesefood on display to show off some of the Arabic traditional dances, to make the community familiar with his Lebanese culture. A small display of his IC days and the pride they cherished while growing up.
After graduating from Bentley University, Samir went straight to work as he felt it was essential to apply the theories he learned, while aiming to obtain higher degrees in the years to follow. He first worked as a Financial Data Analyst for a FinTech startup company called FinAccurate LLC in Massachusetts. Afterwards, Samir moved to London and worked for 2 years as a Data Analyst for a multinational healthcare company called WebMD. Samir enjoyed his 3 years experience as a data analyst. This exposure not only allowed Samir to grow his knowledge further in both the finance and healthcare industries, but it also grew his efficiency in Excel and some coding languages such as SQL and Python. In parallel, Samir also managed a group of data analysts, an engagement that allowed him to grow further his managerial skills and highlighted the importance of teamwork to job conduct. This experience taught him the skill of multi-tasking in a fast-paced environment, the importance of being organized at work, how to prioritize tasks based on due dates in the business world. It is said that practice makes perfect, and that is how Samir grew trust in his working skills and the ability to perfect his work.
In addition to his work, Samir kept investing further in himself. He wanted to expand his knowledge in the data analytics sector, especially in the sports industry. Samir dreams of opening his own soccer recruitment agency in the UK, with the analysis being done solely through data analysis. In order to do so, hetook a couple of online courses from Udemy and earned certifications upon completion in Sports Performance Analytics Specialization from the University of Michigan, Foundations of Sports Analytics: Data, Representation, and Models in Sports from the University of Michigan, Prediction Models with Sports Data from the University of Michigan, Introduction to Machine Learning in Sports Analytics from the University of Michigan and Neural Networks and Deep Learning. That desire to keep learning is a trait Samir developed along his years of studying at IC. “I believe IC helped me understand the importance of constantly learning new things. Even though I was working at the time, I kept learning new skills that would keep me knowledgeable in a world that is very competitive today.”
On his journey of self-discovery, Corona outbreak reached its peak. Accordingly, Samir had to work from home 4 days out of 5 days a week. He used to go every single morning to a coffee truck right next to his house in London. Coffee was literally the first thing that would come to his mind after waking up. The coffee truck he went to was super cool, had young baristas who became his friends, and had amazing coffee and specialty drinks.His love for the truck grew each time he went to grab a coffee until one day he decided that this idea should be done in Beirut as was recommended by one of the truck employees. He tried to get the franchise at first, then the idea of doing his own thing with a similar concept in Beirut came to life, and that is how Brew Coffee & Community came into existence. Brew Coffee & Community is a specialty coffee shop in Koraytem, Beirut. Brew started as a coffee truck, seating about 12 people in the first month and now expanded indoors, providing seating for about 120 people. Brew serves coffee, fresh juices, homemade desserts, sandwiches, and other food items on display. “We are now also entering the coffee roasting industry and will soon start roasting our own beans.” Samir started to take coffee courses as well to grow his coffee knowledge as he has plans of opening this concept abroad. “What really made me just go with the idea was trust in my abilities.” A skill Samir acquired from his 3 working years experience especially since Samir is young himself, an advantage that helps him understand what young kids favor and what type of coffee young kids liked. The reason Samir used the term “young kids” is because “Brew” is located between a school “CPF” and LAU university. “I first thought if I could make drinks that young kids like and then with time learn the type of coffees the older generation like, then my business would be successful.” According to Samir, his main drive is his love to Lebanon and giving back to his community and this is probably why he decided to leave London, despite having a good job there, to venture back home and open Brew Cafe.
In Samir’s opinion, the challenges he faced, whether it was the fear of not returning to his country later, the low records of employment due to instability in Lebanon, his parents’ wishes to seek job abroad to secure a better future, all made Samir determined to return home. Although he was securing a good future in London with a solid position in a multinational company, just the thought of completing his employment life abroad made him both sad and scared. It was this feeling that made him eager to take a risk and open Brew. “I believe the love I have for my country all started back in my school’s days. I spent more time in school than I did at home during my school days.” All the best memories Samir has in Lebanon are with hisschool friends. The love for his country is what makes himambitious to thrive in Lebanon. Samir feels there is so much to give back to his country. In Samir’s words, “If you are going to leave, you might as well just give back something.”
According to Samir, IC did not just impact how he behaves in his career but also IC helped shape him as a person. Samir attributes the level of confidence he has in himself to IC, especially since he was the captain of the football varsity team at IC, he was responsible for being a team leader and being a good example for the younger kids. The IC friendships shaped the person he has become. “I had very supportive friends that I am still in contact with today. They are the ones who I share all my thoughts with first and give me their honest opinion, whether it was good or bad.” According to Samir, the best teachers he had were the ones that were tough on him as they taught him resilience and perseverance. “When you grow older you realize the only reason, they were tough is because they cared.” Samir understood that when he studied abroad and realized that most teachers there did do not care about him as they had many students in class, and he was just a number. “So yes, definitely the teachers at IC prepared me very well to excel in an easier learning environment abroad.”
According to Samir, IC days were the best days of his life. He has so many great memories (ski trips, locker room talks with the football team, traveling abroad for school football tournaments, talks with friends after exams, saying goodbye after graduation, not sleeping at night the night before new year classes start, skip day and the list goes on). If Samir were to say a word of advice to his fellow IC students, it would be, believe in your abilities because the knowledge you are gaining in IC is very powerful. When you travel abroad, you will realize how ahead you are than most people you meet. Stay close to your friends because this friendship is the oldest and strongest you will ever have. Remember where you come from because your memories and experiences in IC will play a very strong role in your future adventures. According to Samir, it is important to believe in yourself and set goals to achieve them. However, it is also important to keep investing in oneself, taking online courses, and educating yourself no matter the level of success you achieve as it is always important to stay UpToDate with today’s world and the ongoing challenges that grow with it.Despite opening Brew, Samir is keen to continue learning new skills, taking new challenges, and taking courses online. He has plans to pursue an MBA abroad and opening new businesses, in Lebanon and abroad. Samir will keep challenging himself to do bigger and better things. What an inspiration this young Alumni is. Watch this space!