Help Youssef achieve his dream to attend BYU

How I got to know Yousseff

Some of you know that I spent the autumn of 2021 studying Arabic in Morocco. For this program, we were lucky enough to stay with host families who had graciously volunteered to house us and feed us each day. My roommate Heber and I were assigned to live with an older couple: Idriss and Zakia. Their warmth and kindness throughout our time together often brought me to tears.

Here is a picture of us on day one at their apartment. On the far right is Idriss and Zakia's son, Youssef: the boy we're here for!

Youssef had an unassuming and friendly presence, and I liked him right away. As we practiced speaking with him over some weeks, it dawned on me that his English was much better than I initially assumed. One day, we started to really converse in English, and he revealed himself to be virtually fluent! Later, I found it unlikely but comforting to know we were living with the best English speaker on our side of Meknes (in the old city). We became very close friends.

Before we transition to his story and objective, I want to make a quick commendation of this guy. Youssef has grit. Without a teacher or any other extrinsic motivator, he put years into becoming not only a passable English speaker, but an excellent one- all on his own time! I remember late one night, we had finished watching "Interstellar" and were talking about the concepts of space-time and dimensionality (ya know, the good stuff). After Yousseff completed pontificating on the possible expansiveness of the universe, I realized how I had once again forgotten he was born and raised in an entirely different world. We were in an intellectual and spiritual flow, like any couple of nerds after a sci-fi flick, or maybe like scouts gazing at the stars. How does one transition so completely and seamlessly into another culture, never having left his home county?

While acknowledging his exceptional intelligence, I also admire Yousseff because he is deeply good. He embodies the kindness of his Morrocan culture and the charity of his Islamic religion. In short, I'm very glad our paths crossed.

He wrote the following paragraphs to explain his life situation and his aspiration to come to BYU as an engineering student. See if you're convinced.

My story

My name is Youssef Ziani, and I am an international student from Morocco. Born and raised in the city of Meknes, my father was an elementary school teacher who taught French. As a middle-class family from Morocco, my father put in hard effort to make an honest living. Though my dad was later promoted to become the headmaster, our family income was by no means extravagant, even by Moroccan standards. As for my mother, she stayed at home to raise my two sisters and me. Despite not having a high school diploma, being the loving mother she is, she taught us whatever French and Arabic she had learned in her school days so that we can do good in the classroom. She accompanied me in my learning journey to the extent that she could until she could no longer help academically. Just as my mom did, my father made sure that I was on the right path of study, encouraging me even when I did poorly, sometimes taking the day off so that he would help me with my math problems. No matter what I do, I will never be able to repay my parents for what they gave me when I was young. They shaped me into who I am today.

Growing up, I worked alternatively as a server at coffee shops or as a ball boy at tennis stadiums. The only way to pay for leisure activities required a ton of hard work and careful saving. I am grateful I worked those long hours, waiting to buy my favorite racing game or to go on a trip with friends. It helped me to develop a sense of independence and true dedication.

Despite these values and experiences, if there is one primary thing my parents instilled in me, it was the importance of education and seeking knowledge. This drove me to excel academically. At school, I discovered a passion for engineering. Being an engineer is a dream I have been working toward since I was a young boy in middle school. I enrolled in the college of technology in Meknes - École supérieur de techonologie Meknès ESTM - a pre-engineering college to pursue my studies.

Yet I always dreamed of studying abroad. I was told on many occasions that I would never make it, since studying in a country like the U.S. is pretty much impossible for us. Regardless of what others said, I knew that if I could get a college education in the United States, I would be exposed to the rigorous training and advanced technologies necessary to become an engineer in the

Why did I choose engineering?

I am passionate about engineering because I believe it has the power to change the world. Also, I just think it’s the coolest thing in the world to be able to build, maintain, or repair clever systems that accomplish impressive things. I get super hyped up when new technologies get announced (my YouTube feed is full of cool scientific projects and documentaries). To me, there is no discipline in the world I’d rather choose than engineering. If I were to get my degree in Computer Engineering, I would want to become an embedded systems engineer, where I could apply my skills developing innovative technology that improves people's lives.

I am intrigued by the concept of smart grids, which is essentially an electricity network assisted by electronic devices that provides lots of advantages over traditional electric grids. It saves a lot of energy, which leads to reductions in your electric bill costs as well as your carbon footprint. I am confident that my training at BYU will help me develop the necessary skills to tackle the challenges related to this field.

My story with AALIM, and why I choose BYU.

The Arab American Language Institute in Morocco (or the AALIM center) is the place where this all started. My family and I had been hosting American students since the summer terms of 2017. Welcoming AALIM students into our home blessed us with lots of relationships with people all over the U.S. We would share a roof for months, celebrate birthday parties together, host movie nights, play basketball, and hang out at cool places all over Meknes city. The administrators at AALIM put their trust in us, and we tried our best to accommodate students: to make them feel at home and support them in their Arabic learning. I’ve learned a lot from the students who have stayed with us. They were a huge inspiration to me. If it were not for the people I met through AALIM, I don’t know if I would ever have had the courage to start this adventure.

My mom uses my room for the students to stay in, since it’s the one that has the least wall damage. Hospitality and honoring visitors is an extremely important thing in our culture. Even though we don’t have much to offer, my dad will often pick go overboard with veggies and fresh fruits from the souk, and my mom will make delicious plates I had never seen before. I still can’t get over how my mom will always cry her heart out when it’s time for students to go home.

When Austin, Heber and the BYU program came to Morocco, not only I was inspired to pursue my dream of studying in the U.S., I had more fun with them than all the other AALIM students before. This is why I want to be with you guys once more, before you graduate and go on your way with life.

Financial aims:

Time is of the essence, and I am running out of it. I have worked super hard to get to this point, working at three different jobs and saving whatever is left from my paychecks to pay for the upfront costs. I've written countless essays, prepared for and taken standardized tests, and gone through the tedious process of getting my associate's degree credits transferred to BYU. I really do not want to let this opportunity slip away.

Currently, I am not eligible for any financial assistance from the institution, since BYU has a policy of prohibiting incoming students from getting any sort of aid until they earn at least 12 credit hours on campus. I have tried to apply for external scholarships, but the majority of them (if not all I have encountered so far) require an applicant to be a U.S. citizen or a green card holder.

Here is the breakdown of the costs, and I have copied this information directly from the school.

A deposit equal to the first year’s tuition (6300 $ per semester) 6300 x 2 = 12600

An international student deposit of (4000 $)

16600$ is what I need to achieve my dream! After the first year, I will apply for scholarships to reduce my tuition, and with a campus I can get job in order to pay for the rest of my expenses.

Thank you!