All Desert Hoya Posts

Showing 68 posts

  • Desert Hoya

    I am the First Turkmen Hoya at Georgetown University in Qatar

    November 17, 2025 · By Jennet Soltanova (GU-Q’29)

    On my 20th birthday this year, I left Turkmenistan, with excitement, nerves, and the pressure of walking into uncertainty. After a gap year following my FLEX exchange in Texas (Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) is a competitive, merit-based scholarship program funded by the United States government), I was finally traveling abroad, alone this time. In the U.S., I had always had a safety net: a host family waiting with warm meals, a host father who drove me to school, a host mother who answered every question I had – and yes, even the ones that probably made her question her life choices. This time was different.

    A woman in a long red dress holds a large bouquet of yellow and white flowers, standing in elegant indoor settings with marble floors and a stage with red curtains.
  • Desert Hoya

    I Emailed This Professor Hoping to Join Her Class – It Became the Most Influential Course I Took at GU-Q

    November 12, 2025 · By Jay Pacer (GU-Q '26)

    At GU-Q, certain professors’ names become part of how students help one another to navigate this place. These names are passed along with a simple recommendation such as, “take her class if you get a chance.”

    A young person wearing glasses and a gray Georgetown sweatshirt stands with arms crossed in a brightly lit hallway with large windows and green plants.
  • Desert Hoya

    How to Make the Perfect Georgetown Pancake: A Note to Present and Future Hoyas

    November 10, 2025 · By Jannat Almazbek (GU-Q '28)

    Today, I will tell you my secret (or not so secret anymore) recipe and ingredients that make the Georgetown pancake perfect.

    A cartoon stack of pancakes with syrup and butter, featuring a cute smiling face. Handwritten text reads the Georgetown pancake with an arrow pointing to the pancakes.
  • Desert Hoya

    Beyond Borders: What a Fishing Village in Indonesia Taught Me About True Community Engagement

    November 9, 2025 · By Hassan Amin (GU-Q'27)

    As part of Georgetown University in Qatar's Community Engagement Program, I traveled to Indonesia expecting to make a difference. Instead, the community made a difference in me. Our journey began with three days in Jakarta, conversations at Georgetown Asia Pacific with Scott Guggenheim and Yuhki Tajima, walks through old Batavia exploring the remnants of five different colonizations, and visits to the Istiqlal Mosque and Jakarta Cathedral. But it was the four days that followed in a fishing village that truly transformed my understanding of what it means to engage with a community.

    A person in a Georgetown hoodie stands with arms crossed by bookshelves in a library, with international flags visible through a window behind them.
  • Desert Hoya

    Teaching English, Learning Everything Else

    November 6, 2025 · By Radiyah Ahmed (GU-Q'28)

    If there’s one thing people eventually learn about me, it’s that I have a thing for languages. I currently speak seven, and am always on the lookout for new ways to use them, or sneak an eighth onto the list. That’s why Georgetown Qatar feels like such a perfect fit for me. Every hallway, you hear sounds like an orchestra of accents and dialects; Arabic, Urdu, French, Tagalog, Somali, Russian, you name it. Every conversation feels like a mini language exchange, and for someone like me, that’s basically heaven.

    A woman in a light gray hijab holds a We Are Georgetown pennant outdoors, with green grass and trees in the background.
  • Desert Hoya

    How GU-Q Taught Me the Value of Unlearning

    October 30, 2025 · By Zarrish Ahmed (GU-Q'26)

    Zarrish Ahmed is a senior at Georgetown University in Qatar majoring in International Politics with an independent Certificate in South Asian Studies. She reflects on how studying South Asian history reshaped her understanding of identity, power, and education.

    A woman with long dark hair, wearing a black sweater with a white collar, stands with arms crossed in a sunny, green park with trees and paved walkways.
  • Desert Hoya

    Introducing the Desert Hoya Storytellers for Fall 2025: What have they Discovered About Themselves at Georgetown University in Qatar?

    October 30, 2025 · By Office of Admissions

    On our campus in Education City, in the heart of Doha, students engage in cultural exchange, explore research opportunities, and experience transformative programs. They reflect on their growth and gain insights into identity, community, and purpose.

    A diverse group of nine students wearing Georgetown University Qatar apparel stand on stairs indoors, smiling and holding school banners, with a tan wall in the background.
  • Desert Hoya

    What I Learned About Growth (and Myself) as a Georgetown Pre-College Program Peer Tutor

    September 30, 2025 · By Alex Bonjoc (GU-Q'27)

    Within my academic career at Georgetown, I have been fortunate. I have had multiple opportunities to grow, learn, fail, and succeed. However, so far, the most transformative experience I’ve had took place this summer as a Georgetown Pre-college Summer Program (GPS) Peer Tutor.

    Nine people pose together in front of a blue Georgetown University banner and flags, dressed in business or semi-formal attire, smiling for the camera in an indoor setting.
  • Desert Hoya

    What I’ll Miss about Doha, What I Can’t Wait For as I Study Abroad at Georgetown’s Villa Le Balze in Florence, Italy

    September 30, 2025 · By Sama Alissa (GU-Q'27)

    Ever since my first semester at GU-Q, I’ve been looking forward to going abroad. Not because I couldn’t wait to get away from GU-Q, but because I heard from upperclassmen how their study abroad experiences changed them, and I’ve always felt a longing for that feeling that they described. As my junior year was approaching, it started becoming a reality. I filled out the applications, packed my room, and left Doha knowing that I would not return for another 8 months.

    A collage of selfies, group photos, travel landmarks, a stuffed animal, and meals, featuring friends smiling together, sightseeing, cooking, and enjoying various indoor and outdoor settings.
  • Desert Hoya

    GAAP 2025: A Welcome Like No Other

    May 18, 2025 · By Radiyah Ahmed (GU-Q'28)

    There’s something magical about the Georgetown Admissions Ambassadors Program (GAAP), a program that celebrates newly admitted students to GU-Q. Something special about the way we welcome new students into a space where they’re already celebrated. Maybe it’s the energy. Maybe it’s the noise, the cheers, the laughter. Or maybe it’s just that quiet feeling of walking into a place for the first time and thinking, oh… this could be home.

    Two people stand smiling under a blue and silver balloon arch, beneath a large Welcome Home Hoyas banner at Georgetown University Qatar. Both wear dark shirts with white text. Blue carpet and rope barriers are visible.