When Sarah Hermez graduated from the elite Parsons School of Design in New York City, she could have joined the thousands of other ingenues toiling away and competing for a spot on the bottom rung at a major fashion house. Instead, she opted to return to Beirut, her family’s homeland, on a quest to make fashion design accessible. Believing that talent, not cash for expensive tuition payments, should determine who gets an education in design, Hermez opened a free school called Creative Space Beirut where anyone was welcome to apply.

Additional video and editing by Elie Khadra.