An increasing number of ambitious, young Qatari women are overcoming conventional attitudes and honing their creative skills in order to pursue a career in the media industry.

The evolution towards a more participatory environment can be seen in the rising number of outstanding female graduates at Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), which functions on the Education City campus of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.

Sara Abdulaziz al-Derham, 21, is a good example of this change. She has earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication from NU-Q, with a major in Media Industries and Technology.

Despite being faced with some resistance from family members regarding her choice of major, Sara felt it was necessary to persevere and follow her dreams.

She attributes this to her desire for a dynamic and versatile career that builds upon her interest in photography, art and debate. “I wanted a field that constantly changes and where I could learn in the process and experiment. This was the ideal choice for me, because right now I can report, photograph, make short films and research.”

Sara has maintained a commendable Grade Point Average throughout her four years at university and has taken up several leadership roles, including president of the Culture Club at NU-Q.

“I was one of the first students who started filming in Arabic at university. I always try to relate my films to something within my culture, heritage and background. I want to be one of the people who pioneer in creating the real identity of Qatari cinema,” she says.

In 2012, her film Ghazil – The Story of Rashed and Jawaher was selected for screening at the Doha Tribeca Film Festival in Qatar and the Gulf Film Festival in Dubai.

Sara has also completed a Certificate in Middle East Studies from NU-Q. In the future, the high-achiever hopes to join Qatar’s diplomatic corps. “I want to be part of the government and participate in the diplomatic field. I would like to be involved in decision-making and in the amendment of laws,” she explains.

Sara’s tenacity to lead and help others choose the right career prompted her to establish a non-profit voluntary organisation in 2011 called Ta2heel. The programme’s goal is to prepare high school students for university by developing their leadership and communication skills, while giving them a broad overview of educational opportunities. This year, Ta2heel was awarded Student Organisation of the Year at the Hamad bin Khalifa University Takreem Award Ceremony.

Sara has applied to graduate school in the UK and hopes to pursue a degree in Creative Media and Cultural Studies before joining Qatar Airways.

Haya al-Mannai, 21, is another exceptional NU-Q graduate with a passion for journalism. In addition to earning her Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism, she also holds a Certificate in Public Relations and a Certificate in Middle East Studies. Haya plans to pursue a postgraduate education in Middle East studies in the near future.

“Journalism is definitely something I want to do in terms of a career. My inspiration was that I have always loved to write and read. I’ve read since I was a child and I also remember watching television networks, and that is what sparked my interest,” she says. “I really want to do magazine and feature writing, and I also want to do multimedia journalism.”

Although her choice of career was a little unusual, Haya explains that her family was extremely supportive of her decision and is very proud to see her reach the end of the line.

“I definitely feel that over the years, more and more Qatari girls will enrol in Northwestern. I think people’s perceptions are changing and there’s more room for women in journalism.”

During the course of her study, Haya has participated in a number of extracurricular activities and played a role in student government. She also successfully completed a journalism residency at Bloomsbury Publishing in the UK.

“My residency played a big part in making me a much more confident and independent person. The best thing about the whole experience was that I got to apply the skills that I learned at NU-Q.”

In terms of the future, Haya harbours big dreams. “I hope that one day I’ll have at least two Master’s degrees and I would have realised my objective of contributing considerably to journalism in Qatar, specifically in writing and video journalism.”