19 Nov 2019
Doha, 19 November 2019. On Tuesday morning, Aspire Academy hosted the “Annual University Fair”, where 18 universities in Qatar presented their programs to the student-athletes of Aspire.
“The objective of this University Fair is to provide an opportunity for our students, especially for those in grade 12, to get to know the options they have in Qatar in terms of further education. This has become a very important annual event for us and we are grateful that these universities come and explain their programs, so the students gain a better understanding about possible paths they can pursue after graduating from Aspire,” says Jassem-Al Jaber, Principal of Aspire Academy.
One of the universities at the Fair was Georgetown University Qatar, that was represented by Admissions Recruiter Hala Eid. “Community outreach is a huge part of the admissions program and it’s important to publicize Georgetown and at the same time to get the feedback what the students need. It's good to be here to facilitate having an intimate conversation with them instead of having them trying to reach out to us and we are trying to be as available to them as we can.”
Regarding the most common questions that students have, the Georgetown Alumni of the Class of 2019, said: “Everyone always asks about the difference between international economics and regular economics or if economics is the same as business and what’s the difference between Georgetown here and the main campus. It really depends on what the student’s interests are, but it’s nice to see what they are looking forward to and we are trying to provide that for them as much as possible.”
One current student-athlete of Aspire Academy, who might end up going to Georgetown one day, is golf player Fahad Mir, who was keen to ask the university representatives many questions. “I wanted to discover which majors I would hopefully look forward to applying for in the future and I also wanted to know where my track would lead me to. If I, for example, go with international economics at Georgetown, hopefully I could get a job in consulting firm or maybe even start my own business one day or if I go to CMU and study biological sciences I could maybe one day become a doctor.”
How much does the possibility to combine his sport with his university career play a role in his decision making? “That's definitely important to me and I asked the universities, whether or not they are flexible and if I could take courses abroad or online, since I might be travelling with the national team or be away on camps or playing in tournaments. My options are still wide open and I am not sure where I finally decide to go, but having the opportunity to asks questions here today was definitely very helpful.”
The 18 universities that participated in the 2019 University Fair at Aspire Academy were Academic Bridge Program, CMU-Qatar, Georgetown University-Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa University, Northwestern University, Texas A&M University-Qatar, Virginia Commonwealth University, AFG University with the University of Aberdeen, City College, Calgary University, Qatar University, College of North Atlantic, Stenden University, Northumbria University Qatar, Qatar Aeronautical College, Qatar Community College, Ahmad Bin Mohammed Military College and Police College.