Engineering student pays it forward
Mechanical engineering student and scholarship recipient Jad Saleh recently won a scholarship from the Association des ingénieurs-conseils du Québec. But instead of cashing it in, the young philanthropist paid his winnings forward and created a new academic award.
“My school fees are paid and I don’t need to buy a laptop right now, so I decided to use the money to create a scholarship,” says Saleh, who has also benefitted from bursaries to help make ends meet during his time at Concordia.
Saleh is a teaching assistant and a member of the Concordia Institute of Aerospace Design and Innovation. Also heavily involved in extra-curricular life at Concordia, he is a past president of the Concordia chapter of Engineers Without Borders and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers and the Engineering and Computer Science Association.
“In the past few years at Concordia, I was offered a lot of opportunities to participate in student societies, where I gained a lot of knowledge, developed my interpersonal skills and picked up advice for the future. I’d like to encourage other students to take the same path,” says the Lebanon native.
The knowledge and soft skills Saleh picked up outside the classroom have paid off, having landed him a coveted internship at Bombardier Aerospace last summer.
Inspired by his late uncle, who passed away during Saleh’s first year at Concordia, Saleh believes in giving back.
His $3,000 gift will create the Jad Saleh Student Life Award. Every year, it will reward an undergraduate student in good standing in the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science who enriches student life at the university.
The Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science recognizes Saleh’s leadership and contribution to Concordia. Dean Robin Drew presented him with an Engineering and Computer Science Award of Distinction last month.
Saleh looks forward to joining the workforce after graduation this spring to gain experience before pursuing an MBA.
Related links:
• Jad Saleh profile in Faculty magazine
• Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
• Association des ingénieurs-conseils du Québec
• Giving to Concordia