Ali Aldawood, Class of 2011,
Student Commencement Speaker
KAUST.... A Dream Come True
Thank-you, President Shih.
I was having lunch in the dining hall at Edinburgh University when I first heard the word “KAUST”.
Two postgraduate students were talking about a fast-spreading email
they had received earlier that morning about a graduate-level research
university called KAUST.
Intrigued, I googled KAUST when I returned to my room later that day
and found, to my total amazement, that a research university was opening
in Saudi Arabia. This did not seem possible to me.
Just a few days before, I had finished my bachelor’s degree at
Edinburgh and I was thinking seriously about advancing in my chosen
field of geophysics. In fact, I’d been searching the web for the best
master’s programs in the world, but I had never considered that I could
find such a program at home.
Years earlier, when I left home for Edinburgh when I was 18, I could
barely introduce myself in English, let alone understand the language
they were speaking in Scotland. They kept telling me it was English, but
it didn’t sound like it to me. Eventually, I did find ways to cope and I
even learned to say things like “a wee bit” instead of “a little bit”
and “be’er” instead of “better.”
That day, as I studied the KAUST website and dreamed of going home, I wondered what I would find at KAUST.
When I arrived on campus, back in August of 2010, I was delighted to
see a diverse mixture of students being of different nationalities,
religions, races, and backgrounds.
I found a university that was not only academically active but also
culturally active. This unique multi-cultural environment at KAUST was
nothing like the Saudi Arabia I remembered. It definitely took time to
get used to, but now I realize that we’ve learned a lot about each
other’s cultures.
When I came here, my plan was to increase my knowledge about geophysics
in general and oil exploration in particular. My ultimate goal was to
give Saudi Arabia what it has given me – huge opportunities to learn and
grow.
Thank you, KAUST, for fulfilling my dreams.
Thank you, KAUST, for bringing top researchers from around the world to educate me and my colleagues.
Thank you, professors, for your tremendous efforts to expand our
horizons and increase our knowledge. We thank you for scaring us with
pop quizzes and giving us extra homework on Wednesdays, just before the
weekends.
And thanks from the bottom of our hearts to our families and our loved ones for their prayers and support.
This is it ... the moment we have all waited for and worked so hard to
enjoy. I see happiness and smiling faces all around me because shortly
we will be honored and presented our degrees.
Believe me, it's not only the certificate that matters. It’s the
science and knowledge that we obtained; it’s the skills of problem
solving and communications that will make us competent professionals.
Our degrees are keys to open doors to the many opportunities and
challenges waiting for us.
KAUST was established here in Saudi Arabia for the very noble objective
of training top scientists who will contribute to science through
remarkable achievements.
We are those scientists. We are the pioneers for this noble objective.
As pioneers, we all need to work hard to build the reputation of our
institution.
As messengers of KAUST, our responsibility now is to transfer our
knowledge to the younger generations, to provide solutions to the
world's problems, to come up with revolutionary ideas to utilize natural
and renewable resources of energy more efficiently, and to develop new
theories in applied mathematics, and computational and life sciences.
With my degree in hand, I will return to my sponsoring company, Saudi
ARAMCO, to use my KAUST skills, training and knowledge to help my
colleagues find new oil reserves and enhance hydrocarbon recovery so
that my country, Saudi Arabia, will remain the main exporter of the most
efficient source of energy to the world.
I don't see this as a job from 7 to 4 any more. Now I see it from a KAUST perspective.
I will know I have had impact when I see an ambulance powered with gas
saving lives, when I see a plane powered with gas taking us around the
world to see our families, when I see NASA sending a spaceship powered
with gas to explore Mars. I can then stand and confidently say “I’ve had
an impact”.
And I challenge all of you to think, at this moment, about how you will have an impact, how you will make a KAUST difference.
Finally, on this memorable day, I thank everyone who has helped me
stand here after a wonderful two-year journey. My biggest thanks is to
our beloved father, King Abdullah, whose dream has come true.
We belong here... and it is not only our dream but our duty as believers in KAUST to make KAUST a shining star.