“Community” Posts

Showing 25 “Community” posts

  • Desert Hoya

    ¡Yalla Hoyas! How GU-Q Became Home, One Moment at a Time

    May 12, 2026 · By Itiafa Ayeni (GU-Q’29)

    In the weeks before starting at Georgetown, I found myself worrying about something new. This time, it wasn’t the acceptance rate or the cost of tuition; instead, it was the campus culture. I had watched far too many American sitcoms and imagined college life as football games, cheerleaders at Homecoming, and crowded dorm parties. While Georgetown Qatar might not have those things, what we do have is something far more unique: a customized experience of an American education in Qatar.

  • Desert Hoya

    An Introvert’s Survival Guide to Thriving at Georgetown University Qatar

    February 19, 2026 · By Anna Lemma (GU-Q'29)

    Freshman year can feel overwhelming, especially if you’re navigating a new country, a new education system, and a new sense of independence all at once. Now add being an introvert to the mix. What a nightmare. Though I am very much in the process of figuring things out myself, I have learnt a few survival skills along the way. Here are the skills I needed to survive my first year on campus:

  • Desert Hoya

    I’m Learning About the World by Meeting the People Who Shape It

    February 10, 2026 · By Radiyah Ahmed (GU-Q'28)

    At Georgetown Qatar, you never really know who you’re going to run into on campus. One week you’re stressing about deadlines, and the next you’re walking past the Prime Minister of Albania on his way to give a talk. And yes, that is a real example. Things like that somehow feel normal here, which is wild when you think about it. It’s literally the School of Foreign Service, and it shows.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.