Texas A&M at Qatar welcomes new students to campus

Texas A&M University at Qatar (Tamuq), a Qatar Foundation partner, welcomed its incoming freshman students during Aggie Life 101, a three-day orientation programme. Aggie Life 101 is a series of seminars, workshops and activities designed to teach students about Texas A&M and its unique traditions, as well as what it takes to succeed at a world-renowned engineering institution.Students and graduates of Texas A&M University are called “Aggies” and that tradition continues at Tamuq. The orientation showcased the opportunities Tamuq offers to students to help them become engineering leaders from social clubs and activities to transformative educational experiences, such as international service-learning trips, study abroad and undergraduate research. Dr Ryan McLawhon, executive director of Student Affairs and Academic Services at Tamuq, welcomed the Class of 2026 to campus. He also introduced the Aggie Core Values and the Aggie Code of Honour, two driving principles that set apart an Aggie education.“Texas A&M is committed to developing engineering leaders in Qatar,” McLawhon said, “not only through the formal engineering education, but also through our comprehensive core curriculum and student life programmes. The curriculum at Tamuq, both inside and outside of the classroom, is strategically designed with Texas A&M’s core values of respect, excellence, leadership, loyalty, integrity, and selfless service in mind. We are extremely excited to welcome these new Aggies to Tamuq and to help prepare them to solve society’s future challenges.”Addressing the students, Student Government Association president, Afnan Ahmed said, “The community at Tamuq is like none other. For me it is truly a second home and I'm sure it will be for you too very soon. As a fellow Aggie myself, my one piece of advice to you is to be open and to fully embrace any and all opportunities that come your way, whether that may be academic, extracurricular, exchange trips, and most importantly developing the best relationships with the people around you.” The current students who acted as ambassadors of the university participated in various training sessions earlier in the year. Orientation leaders managed the various sessions and also conducted tours of the Tamuq Engineering Building. This year, several students from the main campus at College Station, Texas, also participated in the Aggie Life 101 sessions at Tamuq.