DOHA: Travelling over 7,000 miles, a small batch of graduating seniors from Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) joined a graduation ceremony at its sister campus in the US.
Though NU-Q’s fourth graduating class had its ceremony in Qatar, 10 students travelled to Evanston campus to join the larger Northwestern community and represent colleagues back home.
During Senior Week events and other outings, NU-Q students made new friends, reconnected with old ones and marvelled at the beauty of the campus along Lake Michigan.
Qatari senior Marium Saeed, honoured with NU-Q’s student leadership, praised the chance to feel the different energy that comes with graduating with a larger class. “I loved studying at a smaller campus and getting to know all my professors and classmates, but being part of a much bigger celebration with our US peers was an incredible experience,” she said.
For NU-Q Dean Everette Dennis, this year’s graduating class was special “in large part because of their accomplishments, dedication and spirit.”
The 41 members of Qatar’s class of 2015 hail from 15 countries, including China, India, Egypt, Canada and Pakistan. Seventeen of the students graduated with academic honours, with 10 on the Dean’s List seven times.
“Many are going on to media jobs and some of the world’s great graduate schools,” Dennis said.
“We’ve never had a class quite like them. We hope every class gets better but this one is superb, spectacular and spirited.”
NU-Q students who participated in commencement in Evanston included Alanna Alexander, Sophie Jiang, Amna Al Saadi, Mohammed Buhmaid, Nissryne Dib, Jaimee Lee Haddad, James Zach Hollo, Mahdiyeh Mahmoodzadeh, Marium Saeed and Farida Zahran.
Over the years, NU-Q students have excelled in creating innovative and meaningful content, recently producing a film screened at Cannes festival. Students have published or worked in publications, media and companies, including Sports Illustrated, the Financial Times, The New York Times, Xinhua News Agency and Pulitzer Centre on Crisis Reporting. The Peninsula
