Ziad Merdas, an international student from Yemen and a Civil Engineering graduate from UBC, had been through it all: late start in university due to visa issues, the loss of his father, the civil war back home, mental health struggles, and financial hardships. Now he is speaking about how scholarships, peer support, and his mother as a role model empowered him to combat the clash of cultures he faced while attending university abroad.

Featured campus resource: AMS Speakeasy; visit https://www.ams.ubc.ca/student-services/speakeasy/ for more details.

Directed by Zahra Fazal. Produced by Alec Christensen and UBC FGSU on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) people. Supported by the UBC Equity Enhancement Fund 2019.

Music credit: Storybook by Scott Holmes