10/1/2021

In fall 2021, KAUST welcomed forty-three recent KGSP graduates to the university to begin their journey as graduate students. These students successfully completed rigorous undergraduate programs at 23 universities in the US, such as Columbia University, Cornell University, Emory University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and University of Pennsylvania. They also earned invaluable enrichment opportunities participating in various industrial internships and pre-professional development programs while with the KGSP.  Now KGSP Alumni, they are starting a new chapter with the knowledge to succeed and excel at KAUST. As they begin their master’s or doctoral studies, they represent 11 of KAUST’s 16 academic programs.

Below are interviews featuring two of the recent KGSP graduates who matriculated to KAUST in fall 2021. Amna Abdullah, a graduate from The George Washington University, majored in Biomedical Engineering, and she started the Program as a Foundation Year student in 2015. Hadi Homaidi, a graduate from the University of Delaware, majored in Chemical Engineering and joined the KGSP as an ESL student in 2014. These interviews, conducted by their KGSP Advisor Monica Matais in July, reveal personal anecdotes of their KGSP experience, highlight their academic and professional growth, fond memories, future goals at KAUST, and advice to their fellow KGSP peers.

The interviews below have been edited for brevity and clarity.