QF partner Texas A&M at Qatar recognizes student achievements during annual awards ceremony

Texas A&M annual awards ceremony

Texas A&M University at Qatar, a Qatar Foundation partner university, recognized students who have excelled in academics, leadership and involvement for the 2023-2024 academic year during the university’s annual Aggie Achievement Awards. 

Honorees included students of the year, who are selected by the faculty of each academic department. These students are outstanding leaders who excel in academic performance and have significantly contributed in service to Texas A&M at Qatar and the global community. This year’s undergraduate student awardees are Murtaza Gundru (chemical engineering), Yomna Sultan (electrical and computer engineering), Muhammad Saad (mechanical engineering), Mohamed AlAssi (petroleum engineering) and Ghada Abdelrahmane (arts and sciences). The Graduate Student of the Year was Insha Shaikh (chemical engineering).

Other awards given at the ceremony included the Buck Weirus Spirit Award, which honors students at Texas A&M’s flagship and Qatar campuses who excel each year in terms of involvement, experiences, impact and spirit; the Gathright Phi Kappa Phi Outstanding Junior Award that recognizes the top junior in each of the academic colleges at Texas A&M; the Richard E. Ewing Award for Excellence in Student Research; and the Aggie Core Value Awards that recognize students who epitomize Texas A&M’s core values of respect, excellence, leadership, loyalty, integrity and selfless service.

Student engagement awards were also presented. These awards recognize the campus’s incredibly talented student leaders, student organizations and their advisors for hard work, excellence and dedication to add value to student life at Texas A&M at Qatar.

 

The Qatari Student Association won Student Organization of the Year.

QSA President Noor Henzab, who also won a Buck Weirus Spirit Award during the ceremony, said, “It means a lot to be recognized for our work. As a Qatari female engineering student, I feel proud of our student organization taking the top award this year. The team and I have worked hard to represent and showcase the Qatari culture to the wider community here in Education City.”

Muhammad Saad, who won multiple awards during the event, including Mechanical Engineering Student of the Year, Buck Weirus Spirit Award, Core Value Award for Leadership and Engineering ELITES Award, said that it felt amazing to be recognized by faculty and his peers.

 

“I am truly honored and humbled to receive these awards,” Saad said. “I have been fortunate to have had such supportive mentors, teammates and friends, without which none of these awards would be possible. I would like to dedicate these awards to everyone who challenged me to improve, supported me and cheered me on. This recognition is not just mine; it belongs to all of us who have shared this journey together. A special shoutout to our student organization, American Society of Mechanical Engineers advisor Dr. Mohammad Albakri, Mechanical Engineering Program chair Dr. Marwan Khraisheh, my ASME board members and my senior design team, who have been an integral part of my journey at Texas A&M University.”

25 students received Engineering ELITES certificates during the ceremony. The Engineering ELITES Program provides students with opportunities to participate in six High-Impact Practices, which equip student with skills and experiences outside of their regular courses. Such skills include teamwork, communication, leadership and design — skills that are highly sought in the job market. In order to earn an Engineering ELITE award, a student must have participated in experiential learning or an internship, held leadership roles, visited the flagship campus in College Station in a learning capacity, conducted research and engineering design, and been on a service-learning trip.

Dr. Hazem Nounou, associate dean for academic and student services at Texas A&M at Qatar, said, “It gives me great pride to acknowledge the remarkable efforts of our outstanding students who have dedicated themselves tirelessly throughout the year. They have not only excelled academically but have also exemplified the Aggie core values in every facet of their endeavors. Congratulations to all the hardworking Aggies who have earned these awards through their remarkable efforts."