KGSP Looks Forward to the New Academic Year

As the air in the United States becomes cooler and crisper, KGSP students are headed back (or newly arriving) to their university campuses for move-in days. Students and Advisors both look forward to the fresh start of a new academic year after summers filled with professional endeavors and much-needed breaks from coursework. 

Juniors and Seniors are excited to be back to build on their academic routines, taking on more responsibility and exploring more specialized aspects of their academic fields and opportunities on campus. Seniors Fahad Alsadun (Penn State University) and Norah Alsharif (University of Wisconsin-Madison) each look forward to challenging but memorable final years at their universities with exciting opportunities to apply all that they've learned:

“I start my senior Capstone project, building a PCB vibration tester for Penn State's Formula SAE car as project manager. It's the first time everything I've learned has to come together into something that actually works for a real sponsor” - Fahad Alsadun

“After working at the Design & Innovation Lab for three years, I was recently promoted to Senior Tech Staff. I’m excited to take on new challenges in my part-time role, especially facilitating an Intro to Engineering lab.” - Norah Alsharif

Other students, like Ammar Babateen (Senior, University of Michigan) point toward deepening leadership and extracurricular involvement this year. Ammar is "looking forward to mentor[ing] other students as I’m taking part in a peer-mentorship program."

But for many students, the excitement is about returning to their host institution and catching up with friends and favorite spots and activities around campus. Hassan Al Shihab (Junior, University of Colorado-Boulder) says that over the summer "I definitely missed Boulder and the Flatirons. It feels good to return to a familiar place, see friends again, and get back into being a student. I’m hoping this year will push me to become more confident and open to new possibilities.” 

KGSP’s newest cohort of freshmen are equally excited to explore and discover academics and life in college. Faisal Alkharashi (University of Washington) is “hoping to plug into Seattle's tech community and learn from the people building here, while soaking up as much of the Pacific Northwest as I can.” Lana Nouri (Stanford University) and Nydah Alanzi (University College London) are looking forward to the opportunity to live more independently and grow through new opportunities:

"I’m most looking forward to the independence that comes with college and having the freedom to manage my own time." - Lana Nouri

"I am very excited to experience a completely different education system that encourages me to think critically and be involved in undergraduate research from an early stage. More than anything, being surrounded by peers from around the world will give me the opportunity to engage in meaningful and diverse conversations that may broaden my insights." - Nydah Alanzi

KGSP Advisors are looking forward to the start of the new academic year as well, and as always they are prepared to support students taking new steps this fall. Along with catching up on summer adventures, Monica Matais asks her students to reflect on any surprising summer enrichment discoveries or new academic or personal interests that can be explored this year. Ted Helms is beginning his 11^th academic year as a KGSP Advisor, and states that this time of year is always a special opportunity to "welcome a new group of students and support them on their unique paths throughout the year.”