With graduation imminent, Qatar students are managing stress and expectations
Graduation is often touted as one of the most important moments in a person’s life, the inevitable entry to the “real world,” and with that, adulthood. But this transitional phase, which comes with excitement and thrill of graduating, can also be challenging for many students.
“There is an anxiety and uncertainty about what will happen after you graduate,” said Fatima Hassan, a journalism senior at Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q), a partner university of Qatar Foundation (QF). Hassan, set to be part of the QF Convocation Class of 2018 on May 1, 2018, says she often finds herself asking questions about the future — what will she do with her university degree, what jobs will she get, and whether she will be able to see her friends again after she leaves Qatar. “These are questions that I suddenly realized I didn’t necessarily have to answer over the past three years. Now I have to, and that’s what’s been particularly difficult this year,” she added.
“Every sort of transition is difficult,” said Elena Lopez Khoury, Assistant Director of Student Wellness and Counseling Center at Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q), a fellow QF partner university. “As a senior, suddenly, you’re not going to have the home you had for the past few years. Your friends might not be around, you might not know if you have a job or financial independence, you might have loans to pay, and you might also be thinking about what your passion is. There are a lot of unknowns in the process that can be intimidating,” she said.
Multiple responsibilities are a cause of stress for many seniors. “Juggling internships and other responsibilities such as classes, part-time jobs, and working as an editor been difficult and I have been overwhelmed, overworked, and anxious,” said Jueun Choi, journalism senior at NU-Q and Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Q. “This semester has been very difficult because internships have been sort of an entry to working life, and I think transitioning into that is not easy because it’s so different,” she added.
Universities across Education City acknowledge the amount of stress that graduating students experience and provide health and wellness and career counseling for seniors to experience a smooth transition. “The Office of Academic Services at GU-Q offers students assistance in writing exams for graduate schools and all Education City universities also provide counseling services to students,” said Khoury, who added that universities also help alumni who are still in need of counseling to find therapy and support outside, wherever they are in the world.
Students agree with the benefits of this approach. Both Hassan and Choi cited receiving comfort and relief with their NU-Q counselor. “Just knowing that I can reach out to them anytime and having the confidence that they will be able to and be willing and happy to give me support is very valuable as a college student,” said Choi.
As the end of semester approaches, Hassan and Choi are dealing with these stressful circumstances in their own ways, with positivity and determination. “One of the biggest learning moments that I have experienced at university was to understand that I would have some really bad days, and that after the bad days there will be good days as well,” said Hassan. “Now whenever I’m feeling very upset or very sad, I tell myself that ‘It’s okay, I’m allowed to feel this way and that soon it will get better’.” She added that she avoids fighting negative feelings and emotions and allows herself to feel emotional, so as to accept herself and her situation with positivity.
For Choi, these situations are a manifestation of her self-growth. “This is a time of immense growth and self-development because you just have to figure so many things out on your own or with people you trust,” she said. “I think the last semester of college has been very different and extremely challenging, but I’m super grateful because it is preparing me to enter work life and everything that is to come.”
