"Alpha through the eyes of an Alpha" - Hanaa ElSammak

It was my very first day.I vaguely remember the way I entered the crowded hall I had never been to before. Looking into the eyes of unfamiliar faces and wondering which of them I'll grow closer to. As my very first meeting started the board of 2014/2015 introduced themselves, one by one. It was a strange feeling. I distinctly remember one of the board members saying that we would all come in groups of friends the next meeting. I honestly just thought that that was a ridiculous expectation. I barely even knew his name let alone anyone else's. Days passed and we started our first project: Ramadan2Go. I made a few friends and started to feel more comfortable. The project presented obstacles and efficiency was always needed. I slowly began to notice a change in the way I thought about a lot of things. Learning about marketing, fundraising and money management gave me a different outlook on life. And I got to see people living in subhuman conditions which opened my eyes to some of God's simplest blessings. But by far my favourite part was to watch an idea come to life in the form of a mini-project.

Since Ramadan2Go I've experienced multiple projects each leaving a profound impact on my personality. I learned that the youth has power to change things. Or at least some of them. The mega projects that were done in the past year blew me away. I couldn't imagine a bunch of kids essentially, raising over 1 million pounds for a medical cause or hungry people. And yet I was proven wrong every time I witnessed a project come to life. Each serving a different purpose. From feeding the poor to exposing the hidden talents of the handicapped. It takes us weeks and sometimes months to prepare for a project but every time the smiles we witness are worth it. They aren't just any smiles. They're smiles that were hidden by deprivation and fear and only had the courage to come out now. They were the best kind of smiles. And here's the thing. I want to be as real as I can telling you about my experience. It was certainly not all flowers and rainbows. I've had conflicts with friends and board members along the way. I met good people and got to know backstabbers. See, if you walk in here thinking that the yin and yang of life aren't balanced think again. You'll meet everyone here. Personally I can now see the outcome of the diversity, I observe people unlike before. I am better able to differentiate between the ones I want to get closer to and the ones I should steer clear of. I am no longer the girl who walked in hoping to make friends with everyone. I grew tremendously and found myself in more ways than I thought I would. My experience,  overall was enriching and I was given a platform to voice my thoughts and be heard. Around here all ideas are appreciated.
Just a few months back we started electing the board members of the year 2015/2016. I was no longer confronted by the feeling of otherness, no longer confused about what was happening. And now each time I enter the huge hallway I go in a group of friends. The idea I once thought was ridiculous.

Hanaa ElSammak

New Beginnings

Alpha leo club of Alexandria

Life has often been compared to a game. We are never told the rules, unfortunately, nor given any instructions about how to play. We simply begin at go and make our way around the board, hoping we play it right"(- Chérie Carter- Scott). Imagine this, you're sitting in a meeting of

 Alpha Leo, a social charity club you've joined and three nicely dressed people come in, each one of them gives a passionate speech that changes the way you view everything.

Aly Fayed, Sherif el Medany and Doha Mourad have not passed their mid-twenties, in fact Doha is still in school, yet they are co-founders of a successful restaurant under the name Nutellopia. They, like all of us also made their start at "Go". Their eloquent speeches each had a story of struggle behind it showing us how they try play it right.

Our board for 2015-2016 with the co-founders

Aly had a one-of-a-kind struggle. See, Aly hates Nutella; thus he wasn't convinced with the product he was trying to sell. Determined to take things to the next level, Aly looked beyond just the Nutella jar, he looked at the symbol of happiness people see in it, and so he understood the value. He started selling the worth rather than the product and that's when he learned to fall in love with the process. Aly did something most of us wouldn't do, he faced the issue head-on and decided to be in charge of actualising the product and was successfully able to come up with all of these genius creations involving Nutella that are now sold at Nutellopia. He says it wasn't easy, it involved sleepless nights and hours of thought, but it was well worth it.

 Sherif, like many other people his age had a barrier of uncertainty. He works as an auditor and financial advisor at a very respective company. Naturally, he dealt with all the finances involved in realising the dreams of his co-founders. Sherif's hesitation originated from the company's fast paced entrance into an unknown market. And so he decided to tackle the problem. Sherif told us, he would go out to the streets multiple times a week to check on the pricing and quality of products. He had a rough time determining the appropriate price range for each item they needed. He found differences as big as 100,000 L.E. for the same product. From the plates to the ovens, you name it. Having physically put himself in the situation contributed so much to the development of his sense for the market. For him doing online market research and observing pricing changes from a distance didn't cut it. This is why Sherif succeeded.

 Now, comes the one person you would least expect. An 18-year-old girl that is still in school co-founding a company with six other men in their 20s. Doha says her main struggle was at home, her dad is very overprotective, at the beginning he did not approve and she wasn't going to join. It was her mum who pushed her to try new things and explore. Having finally convinced her dad, she faced the inspiring challenge of balancing her education with her career. She admits that it was tough at first. Like any other teenager, she was very excited and full of enthusiasm which translated into her neglecting her school work and focusing more on her career which was obvious in her grades. She went from being an A student to getting a C at most. After a couple of months she started  to limit herself to her studies which reversed the downward spiral that was evident in her grades. After that she started incorporating the company in her schedule while making sure her education had the upper hand. Doha is an inspiring example that time organisation and management are a vital part if you want to succeed.

 After that meeting, We realised that what may seem to you as problems and struggles are blessings in disguise. They teach you what you need to learn. If Aly hadn't loved the symbol behind the product he would've felt imprisoned. If Sherif hadn't put himself out there, he would've been scammed. And if Doha hadn't organised her time she would have to give up one of both, her education or her career. They taught all of us that you need to be anchoring yourself to the belief that you will be given whatever is right for you, regardless of how far off it may be from your personal perceived agenda.

By: Hanaa El Sammak ( hanaameanshappiness.blogspot.com)