Desert Hoya
A Letter to Incoming First-Year Hoyas
Congratulations on joining Georgetown University in Qatar! You are now part of the GU-Q community.
“Personal Growth” Posts
Showing 35 “Personal Growth” posts
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Desert Hoya
An Open Letter to my First-year Self
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.
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Desert Hoya
¡Yalla Hoyas! How GU-Q Became Home, One Moment at a Time
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.
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Desert Hoya
I Got Rejected 68 Times in One Semester: Why Showing Up Changed Everything
I got rejected 68 times in one semester. Sixty-eight. I kept applying to on-campus jobs at our main campus in DC during my study abroad, and the responses were always the same: silence, or a polite "thank you for your interest." Then there were the big ones—PwC, Bain, BCG—all rejections in my first year when I applied for internships. I remember sitting there thinking, "Maybe I should do something else. Maybe consulting isn't for me."
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Desert Hoya
An Introvert’s Survival Guide to Thriving at Georgetown University Qatar
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:
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Desert Hoya
Belonging in More Than One City as a GU-Q Student
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.
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Desert Hoya
I’m Learning About the World by Meeting the People Who Shape It
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.
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Desert Hoya
Why Writing at Georgetown Is About Growth
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!”.
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Desert Hoya
The Middle East: “Middle of What? East of What?” What One History Course Taught Me About How We See the World
During my second semester of university, I was faced with the very important decision of picking which first history class I would take. Reading that sentence probably makes it sound like I’m being dramatic, but let me explain.
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Desert Hoya
From Rwanda to Qatar: The Room That Made Me Feel at Home in GU-Q
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?
