“Blog” Posts

Showing 24 “Blog” posts

  • Desert Hoya

    An Open Letter to my First-year Self

    May 12, 2026 · By Anna Lemma (GU-Q'29)

    Dear First-year me, You just got into Georgetown University in Qatar. You’re excited. You’re anxious. You’ve already made three Pinterest boards titled “Uni outfits” and “college glow up.” You think you’re prepared. I’m writing to you from one semester in the future. Sorry to inform you that the glow up is still pending but it is safe to say that I have learned a few things. So before you overpack, overthink, and over-plan your entire academic career, read this.

    A person with hoop earrings and a headband stands indoors in front of a plant, wearing a gray Georgetown t-shirt with English and Arabic text.
  • Desert Hoya

    Belonging in More Than One City as a GU-Q Student

    February 12, 2026 · By Aras Karlidag (GU-Q’26)

    When I first applied to university, I didn’t imagine myself ending up on a Middle East campus. Like many students my age, graduating from an American school in Turkey, my idea of “college life” was shaped by American cities, American campuses, and the kind of cultural familiarity that comes from growing up under the influence of U.S. soft power. In my final year of high school, I didn’t even know international branch campuses were really a thing, even for the most impressive schools in the U.S. that my friends and I dreamed about.

    A man wearing glasses, a suit, and a tie stands in front of a black metal fence with the White House visible in the background on a cloudy day.
  • Desert Hoya

    Why Writing at Georgetown Is About Growth

    February 9, 2026 · By Tahaniah Mohammed (GU-Q'28)

    On the first day of WRIT 1165: Writing the Human Experience, Professor Rudd walked into our classroom and said something I never expected to hear at Georgetown: “Everyone in this room starts with an A!”.

    A woman in a hijab writes in a notebook at a desk. Behind her, a wall reads: Writing is Thinking. To write well is to think clearly. Thats why its so hard..
  • Desert Hoya

    From Rwanda to Qatar: The Room That Made Me Feel at Home in GU-Q

    January 19, 2026 · By Tony Cirhulwire (GU-Q'29)

    When I left Rwanda for Qatar, I recall it with so much excitement, but also a kind of fear I didn’t want to acknowledge. How will I do for the first time away from my family? A new place, new people, new life, leaving everything behind. I kept wondering, How will I make friends? Will I just blend into the background?

    Two people play foosball in an office space with a colorful, cartoon-style mural in the background featuring hashtags, doodles, and bright graphics.
  • 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

    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

    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 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

    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.