My Spring 2025 Semester in Review

By Janna Alsulaiti.

Janna Alsulaiti, is a multilingual sophomore at GU-Q majoring in International History. She speaks Arabic, English, and Japanese. For the Desert Hoya Blog, she shares insights on her classes and life in Qatar as a local.

After 14 weeks of classes, midterms, and assignments, we are beginning to wind down the Spring 2025 semester. I started this semester with unbridled enthusiasm, especially in choosing classes aligned with my major. Now, 14 weeks later, I am left with a sense of accomplishment and perhaps some subdued excitement.

This is not to say that it was a bad semester. There is no case where a semester is fully enjoyable; it comes with the hardships and stress of midterms and back-to-back assignments. Regardless of the work and stress, I still found myself enjoying the content, so here are my Spring 2025 highlights.

One of the best classes I’ve taken during my time at GU-Q is Transgression in Victorian Literature, taught by Professor Laala Al-Jabber. I took it as an elective. However, it checked off my HALC (Humanities, Art, Literature, and Culture) core requirement. I initially took it because of my love for classics and literature – it was one of my best decisions. It was an enriching experience where students led discussions about themes in some classic favorites, such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. It deepened my understanding of the Victorian era and literary analysis. Despite it being a three-hour seminar, I was never bored in class.

This next class I didn’t expect to enjoy because I’m also taking it as a core subject. However, it was less about truly enjoying and more about learning and broadening my horizons and knowledge. Philosophy of Education, taught by Professor James Olsen, has touched on multiple aspects of higher education and its relationship to the world, but it has also completely changed my perception of education. I didn’t know just how widely debated higher education was in the academic philosophical sphere. I think there are terms and concepts that I have begun using and would find it difficult to stop now. 

When all is said and done, though, there comes a balance between enjoying the work you do and locking in; it’s not all easy after all. Sometimes, you’re pushed out of your comfort zone and forced to complete assignments you might not favor. It’s not all enjoyable, but even the assignments you don’t particularly enjoy end up building skills that you’ll inevitably need in a different class or in the future. 

Spring 2025 has definitely been a semester filled with growth, challenges, and unexpected lessons. As I look back, I come to terms with the fact that every late night, every difficult discussion and every assignment, whether I loved or dreaded it, contributed to the bigger picture of my academic journey. It wasn’t perfect, but it was meaningful. And as I head into the summer and beyond, I carry forward not just knowledge from my classes but a deeper appreciation of the learning process at GU-Q, to many more semesters of growth, discovery, and resilience.

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