This conversation between two friends is about their inspirational story of connection and their journey to AUP and with the AUP community. Gisel '96 met Mohammad in 2014 at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. In the fall of 2015, after meeting Gisel who became his mentor, Mohammad began his education at the American University of Paris. Now in addition to their friendship, one thing they now have in common is that they both graduated from AUP. Hear them discuss specific examples and advice about how each of us individually and collectively have the ability to make a difference. “If you are doing nothing you’re part of the problem.” Watch this moving and inspirational discussion
With: Gisel Kordestani ‘96 and Mohammad Jabur ‘20
Gisel Kordestani is an entrepreneur and tech professional using her expertise to create positive change in the world. Gisel was born and raised in France and currently lives in Silicon Valley, California. She is the co-founder and CEO of Crowdpac, a political platform that enables everyday citizens to engage in politics. Gisel formerly held a senior director position at Google, leading new business development. She holds a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from the American University in Paris and an MBA from Harvard Business School. Gisel joined the board of directors of Mercy Corps after first meeting team members in Gaza in 2008. She had been trying to set up a Google Hackathon, a software programming competition, and found Mercy Corps to be the only team there that could achieve it.
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The American University of Paris is an international university located at the meeting point of France, Europe and the world. Founded in Paris as an American-style liberal arts college in 1962, the University has at the core of its mission the commitment to providing a student-centered, transformative and career-enabling education. Students from over a hundred nationalities benefit from small class sizes, which combine liberal arts inquiry with an active approach to learning. World-class faculty members teach in English across 27 undergraduate majors and 4 core fields of graduate study. AUP’s 20,000 alumni live and work in 145 countries across the globe.
