The Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar held a three-week program catered prospective undergraduate students in November, according to [a press release issued last week](https://qatar.sfs.georgetown.edu/84017.html).
The Georgetown Pre-College Series was a continuation of the Summer College Preview Program, a workshop series designed to prepare students to complete their college applications and later begin college-level work.
Students participated in the Academic Bridge Program, a Qatar Foundation post-secondary school initiative created to help students prepare for college-level work, according to the press release.
“We wanted to find more ways to engage students in college-preparatory programming, [by] allowing them to sample the programs Georgetown has to offer while getting them geared up for college admissions season,” said Melissa Meyers, organizer of the pre-college series.
ost of the participants in the pre-college series were interested in attending SFS-Qatar and in studying international affairs. Students engaged in a six-day program that consisted of educational workshops on research and presentation skills. They also listened to a lecture on international politics delivered by Gary Wasserman, an SFS-Qatar visiting professor.
After the workshops, participants in the pre-college series were able to employ their newly acquired skills by giving group presentations on topics of their choice. The topics included human rights issues like child labor in India, and security-based issues such as Iran’s nuclear program, according to the press release.
Waad Salih, a participant in GPS, gave his presentation on genocide in Darfur.
“I liked the GPS program because I was able to boost my self-confidence, especially in public speaking,” Salih said. “Giving a presentation like this is not something I would have been able to do just a few weeks ago.”
Roudha Al-Nassr, another participant, also felt she benefited from the workshops. “Now I know how to write personal statements and can avoid some common mistakes that I may have made before,” she said.
Following the group presentations, a closing ceremony for the program was held to honor the students for their performance. Liz Kepferle, the director of admissions at Georgetown University’s Qatar campus, praised the students for their demonstrated interest in international affairs and their dedication to submitting the best college applications possible.
“Beyond using the past three weeks at Georgetown to improve your research and presentation skills, and personal statements, you have set yourselves on an upward spiral that will benefit you well past the application deadline,” Kepferle said. “These improvements will serve you into university and beyond.”
ehran Kamrava, interim dean of SFS-Qatar, congratulated the students for their willingness to ask crucial questions about political phenomena and international issues, even after their school years.
“Here at Georgetown, we look forward to helping you ask and explore these questions further,” Kamrava said.”
