Public Relations - Hissa Al Sowaidi
Hissa studied in the ABP in the academic year 2011-12, because her dream of studying engineering in the UK did not work out. She did not want
to waste a year doing nothing, so she applied to the ABP. She quickly realized that it was the right decision:
“The ABP helped me with a lot! For starters, I thought I wanted TAMUQ when I applied and I was stuck with physics as my science course. It
was only later on that I realized it might not be a wise choice. My epiphany happened when I got a C for an assignment in my Academic
Composition class. I was called in by my teacher to discuss my assignment, and was told that it was not my best work and I was capable of much
better writing. We had a talk in her office that day and I remember mentioning that physics was taking a lot of my time since I found it one
of the most challenging subjects. At the time, I was still thinking I would pursue engineering, but my teacher passionately argued with me
trying to convince me that it might not be the best career choice for me. It was a moment where she really showed me that teachers at the ABP
are not there just to teach, but also to understand their students and their hidden potential. If it weren’t for that emotional moment in her
office I would have ended up holding a degree I didn’t want and dreading a job I didn’t like. Instead, I have just finished putting together a
list of a 100 books I’ll be reading in the next few months, loving every moment of it. And that’s because she pushed me to discover and follow
my passion, which is literature.”
Hissa adds that the ABP taught her many practical writing skills, including a crucial one for a serious writer, the skill to cite sources. “The ability to use citations was essential when I pursued my studies at NUQ. Thanks to the ABP I knew not only how it had to be done, but also why. I had to do citations for all the work I submitted during my time at NUQ, and I also used referencing as a way to find sources from other academic works”, she explains. Another important quality she found in her ABP studies was that it taught her academic “discipline, order and a clear understanding of the university life” she was about to begin.
Hissa graduated with a degree in Journalism and is now working at QNB in the PR Department. She has travelled and read extensively and is
considering a career in writing and university teaching and research:
“Although my concentration at NUQ was literature as it is my passion and the field of study I want to take further down the line. I have
chosen to work at QNB with my NUQ degree for multiple reasons. I hold a PR certificate from NUQ as I’ve taken the PR courses required for that
degree; this has helped me tremendously during the first few months here at QNB. In a way, this is the beginning of my career, but I plan on
changing fields. In a few years’ time, I want to move to academia and pursue a higher degree to teach as a college professor. I couldn’t be
more proud of myself that I am now holding a degree from NUQ in Journalism, planning my future to pursue a higher degree and to teach and
someday be to someone what my ABP Composition teacher was to me.”