Georgetown has a history and tradition of educating world leaders.  And they are not only in politics – they are also world leaders in other areas of society such as business or non-governmental organizations. You have a tremendous amount of options at GU-Q. Ironically you probably take it for granted while you are going to school, but when you leave, you realize the scholar who wrote the book was your teacher. There is an amazing caliber of intellectual power there. You are able to learn directly from the professor, not a TA, direct from the professor, the guy who wrote the book. That close proximity really enhances the education. GU-Q is rigorous, has a high teacher to student ratio and everyone knows you by name. Classes are small and the quality of education in QF, at GU-Q, is second to none. Two of my siblings went to GU-Q, and my wife attended GU-Q as well. 

Attending GU-Q builds your confidence to unleash yourself onto this world. I remember this one thing Dean Reardon Anderson said: “we are educating you to become lifelong learners.” I dismissed it at first, but it’s real. The moment you leave the academic world and into the working world, you have a realization. At GU-Q, I graduated cum laude, I dominated conversations, I was very comfortable in class…. when you leave that and enter the professional world working with people with 30 years of experience, it’s shocking how much more you have to learn.  I wondered how I would ever catch up to them and dominate conversations as I had before.  The answer was, to learn, be a lifelong learner. I had to close my knowledge gaps, become proactive, enable myself to excel in my organization. Then I realized with time and maturity, it’s not about dominating the conversation, but about co-creating the conversation while still listening. Actively listening. 

At GU-Q, you realize most of our political drivers are hard wired on economics. In Qatar, the main driver is energy and natural gas. So I decided that I wanted to join the best gas company. At that time and still true today, that’s Shell. 

And I thought coming from an international education, I’d thrive in an international company, learn best practices. This company has operations in 90 different countries over 100 years. The breadth and depth is phenomenal. And I decided, that’s where I want to join. At first, I thought I’d do it for five years and move on. But there’s so much to learn and grow.

I pursued knowledge for the sake of knowledge, and for my own self growth, and sense of fulfillment. I’ve always wanted to pursue an MBA because it compliments my role and education. At GU-Q I focused on how to run the public sector and government, so I thought I wanted to expand, and learn how to manage the business sector and administration side of things. 

When I came back to Shell, I got a team leadership role in contracts and procurement for logistics and corporate services for the company. To my surprise, we got hit by the blockade. It was a real test.  We had to remap and re-channel our entire supply chain because 90% was from inland. We were a peninsula but now we had to operate as an island. Everything had to be transported via sea and air, so we had to remap to move materials and people in and out of the country.

This was at the beginning of my new job. I took on the challenge as an opportunity. I believe I was successful. Despite needing to remap it all, there was zero disruption to our operations. I’m very proud of that outcome. But it wasn’t just an individual effort, it took a team and collaboration with Qatar Petroleum, GAS, and leveraging each other’s strengths and resources. So no plant in Qatar had a disruption due to this blockade. 

After surviving the blockade, I got promoted again, with an increase of scope.  I am currently the deputy general manager of procurement.  I manage procurement related to Gas to Liquid (GTL) with zero disruptions.  I manage costs to preserve value for QP and Qatar, and maintain the reliable production of GTL.  My portfolio also now includes offshore wells, and additional projects, and my role is to enhance the value of the existing production facility. 

When I first became deputy general manager, I knew that if I wanted to become a plant manager for the supply chain for all the plants, I needed to be based in Ras Laffan. And I’ve been here for the past three years. I never got used to the hour and a half commute,  but the value I got, the experience, seeing the challenges faced by engineers on-site, has been incalculable.

First, as a manager, work smart, not hard and understand that the work world is a meritocracy.

Second, when you graduate from GU-Q, you come out with a tremendous drive to do extraordinary things, and sometimes you have no idea where to go. The dilemma I had came from the fact that people used to tell me to do something that I like. To be honest, I found this confusing because that meant I would be playing football forever. 

But then you realize you don’t know what you like. You’re young, in your 20s, and you don’t have enough experience in life to know what you like. So my advice is whatever company you go into, bring that passion to make things happen. Don’t let that fire burn out. Be your own coach. Don’t wait to find anyone to say “good job.” Unleash yourself. I learned this in my first five years.

Also, when you enter a role, you may find the tasks annoying, boring, or difficult.  Do them anyway. Once you’ve developed role competency, then you may realize you actually like the role. Then you become someone who has something to say, and can add knowledge to the room

When it was time for me to choose a university, I did not want to leave my hometown as I had my family and friends, whom I consider my extended family, right over here. I had even applied to Boston University and secured admission there, but then I heard about Georgetown University in Qatar. I was very excited to learn that one of the top-ranked universities in the world was right here in Qatar and that I could receive an education of such quality in my home country.

At Georgetown, so much of the education happens outside the classroom. It is about debating your ideas and thinking outside of the box. I watched many of my classmates transform from being very quiet to being confident and vocal in discussions on important matters. The ability to articulate and discuss ideas is very important in my job where I interact with many different people. Georgetown University has definitely influenced us for the better.

Working on the Educate A Child program. This is one of the most successful programs of Education Above All  and had a target of enrolling 10 million kids in schools by 2016. 

Everyday more children are in school because of me, and that is a great feeling. Being able to witness this work firsthand is so touching. I firmly believe that education is the backbone for everything, and providing that to these children is truly rewarding for me.

The best career advice that I have received is that you should do what you love. You won’t be able to wake up in the morning unless you love what you do and feel that you are working towards a larger goal.

Make sure you enjoy the university experience. Appreciate university life and the education that you are receiving at Georgetown. These days will be some of the best days of your life.

I was hired within three months of graduating. I had started applying two months after graduating, so it technically took one month to find a job. My first job was in Amman at the Queen Rania Foundation.

Some of the best experiences at GU-Q that prepared me for the professional world included writing my honors thesis (which equipped me with high quality analytical, research, and writing skills) and participating in extracurricular activities. GU-Q gave us the opportunities to be leaders in clubs, providing us with various experiences in managing people, coordinating with other departments/clubs, planning events, and implementing programs.

I work in the Mind, Behaviour, and Development unit, providing research support to projects in the Middle East promoting social cohesion, youth and women social, economic and political participation, and other socioeconomic outcomes for refugees and marginalised communities.

Managing a UK Department of International Development grant to evaluate the impact of delivery approaches in education across five developing countries. The project aims to build evidence around various delivery approaches in education, providing policymakers and civil servants answers to questions around how to effectively deliver quality educational services to citizens.

Do not bury your heads in books all the time. Participate in extracurricular activities. Interpersonal and leadership skills are just as (if not more) important than academic achievement. Knowing how to navigate office politics, make executive decisions, and reflect leadership in your work place will stem from your experience as club leaders and active members of the GU-Q community.