Showing 62 “Desert Hoya” posts
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.
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.
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.
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.
Being in the Georgetown Qatar community opens up many different opportunities and hobbies for students to take up. One of the biggest ones? Student clubs and organizations at GU-Q have made my out-of-class experience meaningful – and allowed me to find a true sense of community & belonging.
I first met Nagla Abdelhady (SFS’25) when she was my orientation advisor during Hoya Welcome Week. Her enthusiasm and energy helped me adjust quickly. While my friendship with Nagla took a while to grow, it was hard to escape her on campus. Whether it be her messages on group chats during her time as the Student Government Association’s (SGA) Public Relations Officer, or seeing her in MUN training when she she was the Secretary General.
After 14 weeks of classes, midterms, and assignments, we are beginning to wind down the Spring 2025 semester. I started this semester with unbridled enthusiasm, especially in choosing classes aligned with my major. Now, 14 weeks later, I am left with a sense of accomplishment and perhaps some subdued excitement.
One adventure at a time. That’s basically how I live my life, not just in general, but especially here at Georgetown. For almost three years now, I’ve been organizing Iktashif Qatar trips, and let me tell you, they’ve been some of the most rewarding adventures I’ve had the chance to lead as a student employee.
When I first arrived at GU-Q, there was one academic requirement I was secretly dreading: Language Proficiency. Having grown up a native speaker of Arabic and having studied it for 12 years, it was the natural choice for me to pursue my proficiency in Arabic. Up until that point, Arabic classes had always felt like a mere checkbox on my educational to-do list. The thought of enduring this once more in university was less than appealing.
Experiencing Ramadan as a Desert Hoya is something I’ll never stop being in awe of. The moment the month arrived at GU-Q, I felt the shift in the air- literally and spiritually. One day, it was just a regular university with everyone speed-walking to class, and the next, BOOM. Fairy lights, lanterns, and a magical transformation that didn’t just acknowledge Ramadan; but embraced it.
