Where Are They Now?

Ahmad Abdel Raziq

Class of 2005
School of Business and Management
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

During his senior year at AUS, Ahmad Abdel Raziq gained great real-world experience by working as an intern in the marketing department of General Motors-Dubai. During his internship, he helped develop many online surveys and participated in the analysis of the survey feedback. He was also responsible for updating the marketing department’s website. Ahmad said he genuinely felt like a staff member with General Motors instead of just an intern, having the opportunity to participate in regular meetings with department heads and company officials when the agenda pertained to marketing and public relations. Ahmad said he feels that out of his many experiences associated with AUS the internship helped him gain a focus for what he wanted his future to hold.

Currently, Ahmad is applying to graduate schools in Australia with the hopes of enrolling in an MBA program. He said he wants to further his education and possibly secure another internship that will add to his current knowledge and skills. In the short term, he hopes to complete the MBA program, work for a reputable marketing firm in Australia and continue to gain real-world professional experience.
Ahmad’s long-range plans include returning to Dubai after his time in Australia to start and run a family-owned marketing business that would focus on alternative or unconventional marketing techniques and practices pertaining to the service end of the business world.

Ahmad encourages alumni to model themselves and their lives like a successful business. He said individuals should develop a plan of action for both the short and long term and set goals for achieving their plans. He advised graduates to do research and personal development activities to determine their personal strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. “You must be proactive rather than reactive to stay ahead of the competition and to stay strong and everlasting in the chaotic world of global business,” he added.

Lydia Kostopoulos

Class of 2005
College of Art and Sciences
Bachelor of Arts in International Studies

Since graduation, Lydia Kostopoulos has been quite busy moving from one country to another. In July 2005, she started a Master of Arts degree in Peace, Security, Development and Conflict Transformation at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. The intense classes required readings and papers as well as a lot of challenging group activities. One of the main goals of the program is to produce team player students with great tolerance and stress stamina.

In September, she moved to Spain to continue her master’s degree with an affiliated university, Universidad Jaume I in Castellon. Lydia notes that his program was different academically: “Most of the classes and readings were very progressive liberal left wing. It was quite challenging for me, as I was the only student who came from a mainstream international studies academic perspective.”
She has also learned Spanish. “Though I am not perfect in the language, I now can speak and understand it and can communicate with ease,” she said.

Lydia is currently writing her thesis, which analyzes the constitution of Iraq as a variable to the instability of the nation and its implications for future progress in Iraq’s democracy.
 “My experience in this program has helped me realize that my interests do not lie in conflict resolution anymore, but rather in security studies. After I finish my degree, I hope to further my studies in international security and government,” she said.

Zafer Sakka

Class of 2005
School of Engineering
Master of Science in Engineering Systems Management

Zafer Sakka experienced AUS on two very different levels—as an instructor and as a graduate student. He joined AUS in August 2000 as a lab instructor in the Department of Civil Engineering. By January 2003, he had decided to pursue a master’s degree in engineering systems management. Upon graduation in July 2005, he was accepted with full scholarship to the civil engineering doctorate program at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

“Making the move to Australia was a major step in my career and also in the lives of family members. My wife, Randa, and my three children, Ibrahim, Aseel and Hadeel, fell in love with Australia immediately after making the move, just as I did. While we all had to adjust to the new environment, culture, people and way of life, the transition was surprisingly smooth,” Zafer said.

In addition to being a PhD student, Zafer is working for the university as a tutor. “Knowing that I am using my knowledge, skills and professional experience, much of which I gained at AUS, to help others is very gratifying,” he said.

Zafer is also active in his area of research interest, the ductility of reinforced concrete slabs. Since graduating from AUS, he has published two journal articles and submitted several others as well as two conference papers for review.

“I have to say that I am very proud of my achievements during the five years I spent at AUS both as an instructor and as a graduate student. I feel the engineering systems management program and my teaching experience at AUS helped contribute to my leadership skills and assisted in further developing my professional skills and my strong ethical foundation,” he said.

Maher El-Khaldi

Class of 2004
School of Architecture and Design
Bachelor of Architecture

Maher El-Khaldi is currently pursuing a master’s degree in the Computation Design Program of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). After graduating from AUS, Maher worked with M3ar Consulting Engineers for 10 months. During that time, Maher was also re-editing his portfolio of work and preparing applications for graduate school. “I felt an extreme need for more,” he said. He was admitted to architecture graduate schools at the University of Pennsylvania, Columbia University in New York and MIT. In summer 2005, he worked for two offices in New York, where he was involved in designing an art gallery and re-designing interior architecture an apartment.
 
He began his studies at MIT in September 2005. “I thought I would never be able to compete. Later, I found that I only lack some technicalities due to my previous ‘not very enthusiastic attitude at AUS.’ If I were to compare MIT to AUS, I would only mention the seriousness and general awareness among students, and interdisciplinary approach to education preached and practiced at the Institute. I was intrigued by the productive coordination among different departments. Researchers in social sciences work with arts and multimedia students and learn from each other. Cognitive science scholars join computation seminars and present their on-going research results. Students from the media lab work with mechanical engineering students on a car design. Simply, such an environment helps students develop skills essential for professional practice,” Maher said.

“Being in such an environment, and specifically in the Computation Design Group, has pushed my curiosity to tackle again one of the ‘big ideas’ I had since freshman year at AUS: space. What is it, what defines it, what type of extents does it have, implications it triggers and the context through which it’s defined,” Maher said.