At the age of 23, most people are still trying to find their footing in life. Yet here was Deah Shaddy Barakat, a 23-year-old Syrian American studying dentistry at the University of North Carolina, who was not only excelling at school, but was a positive force outside of it as well.

In his spare time, Deah volunteered for the homeless. His Facebook pagereveals images of events in Raleigh, North Carolina, which provided relief to those facing economic challenges with items such as food and dental supplies.

What’s more, alongside his friend Ali Heydary, Deah started a charity fund called Syrian Dental Relief that to date has raised nearly $300,000 for Syrian refugees in Turkey.