All Desert Hoya Posts

Showing 68 posts

  • Desert Hoya

    Becoming a Diplomat at Georgetown University in Qatar

    January 13, 2026 · By Carl Jambo (GU-Q’28)

    Emotions flared and tensions were high. Only 48 hours remained before complete environmental destruction. The FSO Safer, an oil tanker was leaking in the Red Sea and the greater the delay to extract the oil and fix the leak, the closer the world came to loss of marine biodiversity and disruption of an essential trade route. This hypothetical scenario was my introduction to Georgetown’s International Negotiation and Crisis Simulation.

    Two men in suits sit at a conference table with microphones. One man gestures with open arms while speaking. The Saudi Arabian flag is visible in the background. Food and water bottles are on the table.
  • Desert Hoya

    From Doha to Buenos Aires: How Global Education Shaped Me

    December 17, 2025 · By Jay Pacer (GU-Q '26)

    “How should we reinvent the city?” This is the type of question that Georgetown students like me are being trained to answer on the daily. We talk about a plethora of things–from the stock market to the politics of conserving energy. Here, discourse that questions, provokes, and stretches you is normal. So when I landed in Buenos Aires in Argentina for the Doha Debates Town Hall, it felt like the most natural extension of what we already do in the classroom.

    A group of eleven young adults, dressed smartly, sit on white benches in a modern studio with geometric black and white decor. Some women wear hijabs and everyone faces the camera, smiling gently.
  • Desert Hoya

    The Class That Changed How I See Food

    December 15, 2025 · By Dania Muhsen (GU-Q '28)

    I used to think food was simple. You grow it, you buy it, you eat it. But enrolling in the class Seeds of Science taught by Professor Rowan Ellis back in Spring 2025 changed my views in a way I didn’t expect.

    A person in a white shirt harvests leafy greens into a brown paper bag on a farm, surrounded by rows of plants and palm trees.
  • Desert Hoya

    Snowstorms, Falafel, and Finding Home in D.C.

    December 15, 2025 · By Zarrish Ahmed (GU-Q'26)

    In Spring 2025, I boarded my first-ever flight to the “West,” bound for Washington, D.C. I was one of only a few students from GU-Q studying abroad that semester. Most of my classmates had already gone in the fall, and I had initially planned the same. But when I sat down to map out my independent Certificate in South Asian Studies, everything shifted.

    A commercial airplane is parked at an airport gate on a snowy day, connected to the jet bridge; another jet bridge and plane are visible in the background.
  • Desert Hoya

    Where will I be next December? I graduate in Less than Six Months

    December 9, 2025 · By Zarrish Ahmed (GU-Q'26)

    The realization that I’ll be graduating in less than six months brought tears I couldn’t control. Today, I have the privilege to call GU-Q my second home. I can go to campus in the middle of the night to play table tennis, walk into the Wellness Center during a crisis and find warmth and care, or step into any department and see familiar faces who greet me with genuine connection. There’s a strange kind of comfort in the small routines here, the elevator that has no close button but somehow I don’t mind. Having karak in the atrium almost every lunch hour. And knowing that Frances and Gladys, security guards in our building, will worry if they don’t see me on campus for two or three days. Joebee from the O’Street Café knows my exact order without me saying a word. It’s in these simple, ordinary moments that I’ve found belonging, in shared laughter, inside jokes, and the quiet joy of being known.

    A woman with long dark hair sits at a makeup station with face paint on her cheek, surrounded by makeup supplies, while another woman stands in the background.
  • Desert Hoya

    These Three Classes Shaped My Fall 2025 Semester

    December 9, 2025 · By Dania Muhsen (GU-Q '28)

    Every semester at GU-Q feels like opening a new chapter, but Fall 2025 feels especially meaningful to me. The first thing I thought when I stepped onto campus on the first day of class was “Oh my god, I am actually not a freshman anymore.” As scary as that is, it’s also extremely exciting. I’m taking a few classes that have really scratched my brain in all the right ways, let me tell you all about them!

    A woman with glasses smiles and points to her black shirt that says Georgetown in white letters. She is indoors, standing in front of couches and glass walls in a brightly lit room.
  • Desert Hoya

    Ask Any GU-Q Student – This Is the Only Way to Survive the Busy On-Campus Schedule

    December 9, 2025 · By Abdrakhman Serikkali (GU-Q '28)

    How should you spend your time “rightly”? Is it to be “productive”? If so, what constitutes productivity: maximizing work hours, spending time with family and friends, or snuggling up in your bed for personal space? Since I entered high school, all I have heard around me was the loud static of the “Don’t Waste Your Time” sentiment, whether from my parents or thoughtful teachers. And it confused me, because my time – no matter how I spent it – never felt like a waste.

    A person in a gray hoodie looks through a telescope out a large window, viewing a cityscape with buildings, greenery, and a partly cloudy sky.
  • Desert Hoya

    How Georgetown Feeds My Multilingual Obsession

    November 23, 2025 · By Radiyah Ahmed (GU-Q'28)

    If there’s one thing people figure out about me pretty quickly, it’s that I have a soft spot for languages. I speak seven so far, emphasis on so far, and I’m always picking up new words, accents, or phrases from whoever I’m sitting next to. That’s why Georgetown Qatar just fits. You walk through campus and it’s like a hundred different worlds sharing the same space. Arabic, Urdu, French, Tagalog, Somali, Korean, it’s all there, blending together in the halls and classrooms. Every conversation feels like a new story, and honestly, that’s my kind of music.

    A large group of people gather in a spacious, well-lit hall with tables arranged in rows, some featuring displays or food. Attendees interact, talk, and walk around in a lively, social atmosphere.
  • Desert Hoya

    How To Not Waste Your Summer 101

    November 19, 2025 · By Abdrakhman Serikkali (GU-Q '28)

    For me, summer is usually a heap of unrealized plans, spontaneous travels, and the irritatingly slow mind marches of daydreaming on my bed. The summer of 2025, however, to my surprise, was completely different.  In the spring semester of my first year, I knew I wanted to spend the summer doing what I love—writing. Good writing, nevertheless, flourishes when one is in a new setting, with differences capturing your every sense. So, I looked for summer writing courses in various countries, with the intention of challenging myself.

    A man in a white shirt sits smiling in front of Castel SantAngelo and a stone bridge in Rome, with a blue sky and some greenery in the background.
  • Desert Hoya

    Raising the Georgetown Flag at the Biggest International Law Moot Court Competition

    November 18, 2025 · By Carl Jambo (GU-Q’28)

    Sometimes the most courageous step you can take is to clench your fists, whisper an affirmation of hope, and press ‘submit’ on that Google form. It was 11:00PM, less than an hour to the deadline as I sat staring at the application for the Georgetown Moot Court team. I couldn’t help but wonder whether I would be good enough,  right up until the moment I clicked submit. That single click became the spark that set the stage for an unimaginable intercontinental journey to North America.

    A person in a gray blazer proudly waves the flag of Qatar while walking in a crowded indoor event, surrounded by other participants dressed in formal attire.