“Welcome to the Neighborhood” Event Introduces New Alumni in Region to the Georgetown Community

Georgetown University’s recently held “Welcome to the Neighborhood”, an annual worldwide alumni event hosted by the school’s regional alumni clubs, saw GCC-wide participation through the newly created Georgetown Alumni Club of the GCC, marking the first time this club spearheaded regional participation. Headquartered in GU-Q and serving the needs of graduates living in Qatar and regional Gulf countries, the Alumni Club of the GCC organized two separate events, one in Doha and one in Dubai, as part of the global Georgetown festivities that spanned 47 cities and included participation of 1600 people around the world. The gathering was open to all Georgetown alumni.

Both of the Welcome to the Neighborhood events welcomed new graduates and seasoned Georgetown alumni from either the Washington D.C. or Doha campus who are now living and working in the GCC, and provided an opportunity for professional networking, sharing information and resources, and connecting socially with fellow graduates. In total, 27 alumni attended the reception at the Grand Hyatt Doha, and 22 alumni attended the event at Caramel restaurant, located in the DIFC, in Dubai.

“Georgetown’s Alumni Club of the GCC is a vibrant and active community that connects Georgetown alumni across the region and around the world,” said Charles Nailen, Alumni Relations Manager at GU-Q. “Currently, we have 400 club members, of which about 150 graduated here, from Georgetown’s Education City campus. This Georgetown tradition is a wonderful opportunity to introduce recent graduates, and recently relocated graduates, to our alumni community, which can serve as an important asset for both personal and professional career development.”

Charles Nailen organized and attended both events, along with Sandy Kim, Career Services Manager in the office of Outreach and Business Development, the GU-Q department that organizes all alumni activities, including the Alumni Club of the GCC.

Attending alumni represented both the private and public sector, and represented a wide range of industries, including banking, consulting, financial services, technology, and real estate, as well as alumni working in the academic community.

Ghada Abdulla, a Qatari alumna who graduated earlier this year with a degree in International Politics, said the Welcome to the Neighborhood event was a great way to discover the kinds of careers Georgetown students pursue. “It was really eye-opening to see where everyone who graduated from Georgetown had reached, professionally. And it offered me, a new graduate, an opportunity to see the wide range of professions my own career path could lead to in five or ten years’ time.” Following graduation from GU-Q, Ghada began working at QatarGas as a leadership and succession planning officer.

Georgetown University’s recently formed Alumni Club of the GCC officially set in motion the organization’s presence as the first ever region-wide alumni organization. The Club represents all Georgetown alumni living and working in the GCC region.