Parents experience day in the life of students at Qatar Foundation

The Student Center is a 350,000 square foot facility that features indoor recreation spaces, a black box theatre, art gallery, cinema, bowling alley, business district, food court, QF student affairs staff offices and much more. The Student Center, conveniently located in the heart of QF, is a place for students to relax and socialize, but is also a place to learn and study.

Dr. Dennis Roberts, Associate Vice President of Faculty and Student Affairs, welcomed students and family members to the event: Every parent and family member should consider their students' success to be a family accomplishment. Qatar Foundation relies heavily on families knowing the purposes and possibilities available at our universities and Family Day is one of the ways we seek to share this message."

Muneera Umedaly Spence also gave a welcome speech at the event, both in her capacity as Chair of the Department of Graphic Design at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, and as a mother with a child of her own studying at Qatar Foundation: "It is critical for students to experience the full educational environment. It is in the balance between the classroom expectations of learning and the amazing knowledge to be gained by working together with other students in extra-curricular activities, which makes for the holistic university experience. It is through these activities that our students become self-initiators, leaders and collaborators --the full range of experiences contributes to the learned student. As a parent, I have watched this transformation in my children with delight."

After the welcome speeches, families participated in campus experience sessions designed by each of the six strategically selected elite international universities and the Academic Bridge Program. They include: Texas A&M University at Qatar, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, and Northwestern University in Qatar.