Dean Nonneman addressing the new students
Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar (SFSQ) inducted its newest class of 83 students on Thursday, following the conclusion of a week of new student orientation.
The Class of 2016 includes 32 international students. The university’s newest members are also its most diverse, with 23 different nationalities.
The activities for the incoming freshmen included the introduction of this year’s theme based on the roaring 20s, placement testing, a game that revolves around a mysterious murder and a dhow cruise.
“Our aim is to ‘Educate the Whole Person,’ which is one of the central mottos of Georgetown as a whole, and draws on a centuries-old Jesuit tradition of learning that underpins the university,” dean Gerd Nonneman said in his welcome address at the convocation ceremony on Thursday.
He explained that the Class of 2016 is Georgetown in Doha’s biggest intake to date. “It is gratifying to see that word is spreading fast about the quality of education we provide here at the Qatar campus,” he added.
Majed Sultan al-Maadeed, a Qatari student who graduated from the DeBakey High School and the Academic Bridge Programme (ABP), said he chose Georgetown because of the multicultural atmosphere it offers.
While at DeBakey he travelled to Houston, Texas for a school visit, receiving a Leadership Certificate from Shelia Jackson Lee, US Representative for Texas’s 18th congressional district.
Majed was also a part of the ABP Debate Club, MUN Club and played a major role in the football team. Furthermore, Majed has a huge interest in Japanese culture which started after he visited the land of the rising sun.
Community engagement and service is considered an integral part of the Georgetown education. The university’s students and faculty are involved in a number of charitable organisations and initiatives in Qatar, and travel each semester on international service learning trips.
Over the summer break this July, SFSQ students travelled to East Timor as a part of the university’s Zones of Conflict/Zones of Peace Programme, to learn more about post conflict resolution.
The new student orientation week is designed to ease students’ transition into university life by familiarising them with the building and classrooms, the Education City campus, and the Georgetown community.