AUS students deliver inspirational lectures

Two engaging lectures were held at American University of Sharjah's (AUS) recently. The first lecture was entitled "The Pearl: Queen of Gems" and was delivered by Adi Al Fardan, a student majoring in finance. It focused on the history, cultivation and unique status of pearls. The second lecture was entitled "The One Million Dirham College Drop-out Experience" and was delivered by Hamzeh Al Fuqha, a civil engineering major who spoke about his experiences of dropping out of university and why he returned. The lecture was part of a series held by the Office of Student Affairs' Student Leadership Program. 

Al Fardan discussed the creation and formation of pearls and the differences between natural and cultured pearls. He explained that natural pearls form without any human intervention and are very rare, while cultured pearls are formed in a pearl farm using human intervention.

Al Fuqha's lecture focused on the importance of doing what you love to do in order to succeed. He talked about his real life experience when he received an offer to join a leading sustainable construction company in the UAE in 2010. What attracted him most to the opportunity was that the fact that he was able to earn what a professional engineer makes in the third or fourth year of their career while only in his second year at AUS.

Al Fuqha was eventually promoted to Head of Estimation and Contracting and was dealing with contracts worth millions of dirhams. It was then that Al Fuqha took the decision to drop out of university. Shortly afterwards, Al Fuqha opened his own company, securing approximately AED 500,000 of initial capital investment.  Despite his success, Al Fuqha felt there was something missing.

"After a lifetime worth of 'experience,' I knew what I needed most was the disciplined atmosphere of an educational environment," he said. "So, I shut down my company and went back to AUS. I can't say I regret anything. A year and a half from now, I will be a college graduate. My mind has been expanded beyond my wildest dreams," he added.

 "We launched the AUS Student Lectures Series this year to allow students the opportunity to share their knowledge and achievements to inspire and educate their peers," said Dr. Moza Al Shehhi, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs. "The delivery of the lectures aid students in developing their leadership abilities, focusing on communication and presentation skills. We received great response from students and we will continue to conduct lectures next year.  I encourage students who are interested in presenting to contact the Student Leadership Program," she added.

The AUS Student Lecture Series is organized by the Office of Student Affairs' Student Leadership Program.