Jeongho Park
Doha, Qatar: As a new class of students begins university life at Education City, two students at different stages of their academic journeys are offering advice on navigating the transition – from knowing when to ask for help to embracing uncertainty and making the most of opportunities beyond the classroom.
For Jeongho Park, 21, learning to ask for help was one of the most important lessons of his university experience.
Originally from South Korea, Park has lived in Qatar since he was five. He chose Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q), a Qatar Foundation (QF) partner university, because it allowed him to pursue medicine while remaining close to his family. But once classes began, he found the workload far more demanding than he had expected. “Back in high school, I had a hard time asking people for help,” he says.
Used to handling responsibilities on his own, Park initially struggled as university assignments accumulated. What changed his approach was the people around him recognising that he was struggling before he asked for assistance.
“People around me noticed I was overwhelmed and constantly fatigued,” he says. “They started offering help even before I reached out to ask.”
The experience taught him that professors, senior students and peers were willing to support him if he allowed them to. The lesson proved valuable beyond the classroom, including during a summer service-learning trip to Tanzania, where Park worked alongside local doctors in unfamiliar clinical settings. “Everything was very new,” he says. “But by constantly communicating with my classmates, I was able to push through challenges together with everyone.”
His advice to incoming students is straightforward: do not wait until things become overwhelming before seeking support. For Hazem Al Aji, a senior at Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ), the challenge was different. His university journey involved making difficult choices about his academic future – and trusting those choices.
Hazem Al Aji
Al Aji had opportunities to study abroad, offering the independence and fresh start he had imagined. Instead, he chose TAMUQ. His decision was soon reinforced when he was selected to attend a leadership conference at Texas A&M University’s main campus in Texas and later became one of five students representing TAMUQ at the Conference of Student Government Associations.
“Twice in the same semester, the puzzle felt like it was coming together,” he says.
When he later had an opportunity to transfer to another university, he again chose to stay.
“I wish I could tell you it was courage. I wish I could tell you I had it all figured out,” he says. “But the truth is, I just wasn’t ready to give up on something I hadn’t fully given a chance yet.”
Remaining at TAMUQ gave him four research experiences spanning mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering and 3D printing. It also exposed him to the value of interdisciplinary collaboration.
He recalls Invent for the Planet, an annual competition organised by TAMUQ and QF’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University, where students from different fields worked together.
