Education City students share lessons with the new class

Doha, Qatar - As a new cohort of students embark on their university journey at Education City, two students at varying stages of their academic careers are imparting wisdom on navigating this pivotal transition.

For 21-year-old Jeongho Park, adapting to the rigors of university life in Qatar was a steep learning curve. Originally from South Korea, Park has called Qatar home since infancy. He opted to study at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, a Qatar Foundation partner university, to pursue medicine while staying close to family. However, Park found the workload far more challenging than anticipated. "Back in high school, I had a hard time asking people for help," he recalls.

Observing Park's struggles, his peers eventually noticed his fatigue and offered assistance without his request. This experience taught him that academic support is readily available from professors, senior students, and classmates. Park advises incoming students not to wait until things become overwhelming before seeking help.

Hazem Al Aji, a senior at Texas A&M University at Qatar, faced a different challenge. Instead of studying abroad, he chose TAMUQ, a decision that proved fortuitous when he was invited to attend a leadership conference at Texas A&M's main campus in Texas. Al Aji was later selected to represent TAMUQ at the Conference of Student Government Associations.

Despite considering transferring to another institution, Al Aji remained committed to his choice at TAMUQ. He valued the opportunity to conduct research across mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering, and 3D printing, as well as the interdisciplinary collaboration fostered by events like Invent for the Planet, an annual competition where students from diverse fields collaborate on projects.