Georgetown University’s newly formed Alumni Club of the GCC recently concluded elections for its executive committee, which officially sets in motion the organisation’s presence as the first ever region-wide alumni association. Both the nominations for the positions, and the voting body, were open to any Georgetown University graduates working or living in the GCC.
“This executive committee will be responsible for coordinating activities of our alumni organisation, one of the most important resources for our graduates, allowing them to stay connected to the school, and to the wonderful people they meet during the transformative university years of their lives,” said Charles Nailen, Alumni Relations Manager, GU-Q, and the main organiser of the club’s launch.
“It also allows alumni to take advantage of lifelong learning resources, career services support, and networking opportunities, wherever they are on their career path.”
Unlike the traditional alumni groups that serve the student needs of their city or country, the Alumni Club of the GCC has a far broader reach, representing several countries and graduates from both the Washington and Doha campuses.
“More than 25 percent of our club’s alumni members voted in this first round of elections, which means we’re already starting out with a high level of participation that is sure to increase over time,” said Charles, who organised the voting process online to insure that members living throughout the region could participate. “Currently, we have 400 club members, of which about 150 graduated here, from Georgetown’s Education City campus.”
The newly elected executive committee has already met for their first meeting, recently. “When I arrived in Doha I was heartened to learn Georgetown had a campus in the city,” said James Faulkner, who graduated from the Washington campus of Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service in 2000, and currently works for Booz Allen Hamilton in Qatar. James ran for president of the alumni organisation in the recent election, which resulted in a tie. He is now co-president, sharing the position with GU-Q alum Basil Mahfouz.
International Alumni Weekend event is scheduled for December 5-8, where Georgetown alumni and international club leaders from around the world will converge on Doha, the first time the separate groups meet at such an event, to share experiences and strengthen their alumni community. All of the Alumni Club of the GCC programmes are organised out of GU-Q’s Office of Outreach and Business Development.
The Peninsula
