College: Al Ain Women's College
College days left everlasting memories in my mind no matter how they were. I remember most of the days at the college with a big smile; other days I now wish I had invested in them more. However, one would never disagree that all the college days were rewarding, once you join the workforce.
AAWC Old Campus
Among the memories that I will never forget is when I first joined the college. We went to the old AAWC premises throughout my first year at the college. Although the college was two connected villas, but no one would deny the family spirit that every single member of both staff and students felt at that time. Most of the days I used to leave college with my friends at 09:00 pm as we used to stay late to finish working on our assignments.
Exam Days
I am not a big fan of exam days. At the beginning, exams used to freak me out. But, with time I started to feel more confident to take exams. In fact, I began to develop strategies to overcome exam phobia. One strategy was to summarize the book materials during normal days and to go through them on exam night. Hence, instead of going through the book I used to go through my notes only. This strategy helped me to train my brain to pay special attention during class to grasp the important points from the teachers’ talks and focus on the important things included in the bulk materials of the book. Another strategy that helped me in memorizing book materials was to present the book materials in a graphical form instead of words. I became more creative with time!
Business Decision Simulation
Among the memories that I am most proud of is the Business Decision Simulation experience. I was a student in my final year at the Higher Diploma programme when we, my classmates and I, were competing with other teams across the HCT colleges in 1999 as part of the Business Decision Simulation course. Our team of 6 students occupied the 1st rank across the HCT colleges. The hard and serious work finally paid off when I was the first and only student who achieved 100% in the self-defense in front of panel of experienced teaches from other colleges. All of this was attained because of the extraordinary support we got from our Business Supervisor at that time, Erd Gunal, and our great teacher, Mr. Buch.
The taste of victory is magnificent to the extent that I want it to be endless. The lesson I took with me from this experience is to believe that you are a winner and victory will knock at your door the next day. Thus, throughout my career I put across my eyes to be successful through exhibiting hard work, a positive attitude and commitment. Because of my positive attitude I have been surrounded by positive people who supported me and believed in my abilities. Now I am the Director of Planning & Performance Management Division at the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi and a member of the Executive Management Committee.
In conclusion, my advice to all students who are working their way out to the workplace is to work hard, be committed and positive and you will able to influence the world around you.
All the best to AAWC staff and students!