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Greetings Fellow Alumni,

With Homecoming Week around the corner, I am happy to welcome our newest members, the Class of 2011 into the Alumni Association. You are proud members of the pack and are joining a very special cohort of the AUK community. This year will mark the five year reunion for the class of 2007! We have come a long way as a group and I hope to see all of you on Dec 7, 2011. Homecoming is a great tradition at AUK and you will all get to experience the joy of reuniting with old classmates and the sense of camaraderie that comes along with it.

Our campus has been busy with construction to allow for the increasing number of students, new departments and new programs. AUK is growing and we will share these updates in this edition of our Alumni Newsletter.

We have had music recitals, a talent show supporting breast cancer awareness, a health fair and lots of sports activities. Some of you have joined us for these events and we appreciate your support, I would like to take this opportunity to extend an invitation to all alumni to stop by campus and see what we’ve been up to. Wether it is to say hello to some old friends, staff and faculty or to attend one of our events on or off campus: we welcome you with open arms.

Your are part of the AUK family: Welcome Home!

Looking forward to seeing you soon,

Dana H. Taqi ‘07Coordinator of Alumni Affairs & Employment Programsdhtaqi@auk.edu.kw

Content by: Dana H. Taqi Design: Saba Al Fadhalah

November 2011, issue 6 Alumni Affairs Newsletter

Alumni Affairs Newsletter

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Campus News

AUK-Dartmouth Music Recital: An Evening of Enchantment

The Music Program of the American University of Kuwait (AUK) in collaboration with Dartmouth College, one of the premiere “Ivy League” universities of the USA, presented a stellar music recital at 7pm on Monday 14 November in the AUK Auditorium Liberal Arts Building, Salmiya Campus. Before a packed house of an audience of over 300, advanced student musicians from both distinguished institutions, accompanied by faculty, performed an exciting repertoire of vocal and instrumental solo and chamber works, demonstrating the continued success of AUK’s cultural collaboration with Dartmouth. The concert, which was the fourth AUK-Dartmouth recital, featured great variety, including works by Chopin, Haydn, Fauré, Mozart, and Verdi. Music professionals, Drs. Elena Tsenkova (piano) and Feruza Kadirova (violin), and Professors Anna Karadimitrova (voice), Agnieszka Fajga (cello), and Dagmara Galas (flute) showcased both their and their students’ talents. The Dartmouth intern at AUK Shloka Kini, playing guitar, accompanied AUK student Sara Suliman (flute) on two pieces. Ms. Kini went on to perform a Kuhlau solo piano sonatina, and then joined the full ensemble as a singer in the finale Schubert Serenade.

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AUK Hosts 7th Annual Health Fair

For the seventh year, the American University of Kuwait (AUK) hosted the Annual Health Fair in its Salmiya campus on November 15th. The full day popular exhibition was sponsored by the Career Services and Wellness Center and hosted a variety of health and wellness participating companies including, gyms, healthy restaurants, organic product companies, clinics, spas, hospitals, and health related societies. During the event, participating companies provided health education literature and information about mental health issues. Clinics provided free checkups for teeth, eyes, skin, blood pressure, and diabetes. Food companies provided free samples of healthy foods and drinks. Gyms provided free trials of exercise equipment. In addition, doctors and nutritionists on site provided free consultations. The Health Fair provided students with knowledge of how to utilize resources in Kuwait to create and maintain a healthier lifestyle. The five sponsoring companies, Al-Yasra Foods, Firin Gluten-Free Bakery, Fit Football, Hassan’s Optics, and Maidan Clinic, presented memberships, vouchers, and other interesting prizes in an effort to encourage and promote such lifestyle choices.

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Trademark and Logo Design Exhibition at AUK

The Graphic Design Program at the American University of Kuwait hosted a design exhibition featuring the works of Stefan Kirov Kanchev on October 24-27, 2011. The exhibition, which presented a large variety of trademark and logo designs from Kanchev’s extensive career, was appreciated by students, staff and faculty alike who enjoyed the works of one of the worlds most prominent logo designers. Kanchev’s designs are inspiring, educational and continue to be significant to graphic design practice and history.Stefan Kirov Kanchev, (Aug. 6, 1915 - Aug. 22, 2001) was an applied graphic artist born in Kalofer, Bulgaria. He studied mural painting under Dechko Uzunov at the National Academy of Arts in Sofia. Kanchev is best known for his logo design work and been referred to as the “father of Bulgarian graphic design” and the “master of the trademark”. In total, Kanchev has authored around 1,600 logos and his work spanned most varieties of applied art, though he was most productive in his trademark and logo work and as a designer of book covers, posters, greetings cards, print advertisements, stamps, product labels and packaging. As a designer, Kanchev was often inspired by traditional Bulgarian art and folklore. His works are imaginative, with calm and clear composition, felicitous relation between fonts and shapes, clear forms and creative ideas.

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‘Refuse to be Ordinary’ at AUK

The Office of Student Life launched AUK’s Volunteer Program ‘Refuse to be Ordinary’ on October 18, 2011. This event provided AUK students with the information and opportunity to become significant contributors to the Kuwaiti community through service. Six organizations that perform exemplary service in Kuwait came to AUK. They were Kuwait Red Crescent Society, K’s Path, Operation HOPE, PAWS, KACCH and the Kuwaiti Team 4 Global Warming (KT4GW). The event was attended by over 120 students, as well as others who came to the sign up tables. All those who attended the event were treated to frozen yoghurt from Pinkberry. Overall about 130 students signed up with the six organizations and will soon begin to engage in meaningful service, thus showing that they ‘Refuse to be Ordinary’.

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AALE Awards Program Accreditation to AUKThe American Academy for Liberal Education’s (AALE) Board of Trustees awarded the American University of Kuwait International Program Accreditation for its Arts and Humanities Division, Social Sciences Division as well as the University General Education Program.

The Academy certifies and accredits institutions and programs worldwide that are concerned with liberal education and the liberal arts. Accreditation by AALE signifies institutional integrity and a strong commitment to liberal education. Membership certifies that the institution meets or exceeds the Academy’s independently established Education Standards.

The AALE Board, Council of Scholars and Site Evaluation Visit Team all agree that, “The University’s commitment to provide liberal education extends from AUK’s administrators and Board of Trustees to the faculty and students.” They added that AUK students “are strongly enthusiastic about inquiry, reflection, critical evaluation, debate and preferring thoughtful critique over memorization.” Further, the Visiting Team Report added that “the AUK Faculty is commended for the many ways they seek out and implement additional learning opportunities that enhance the quality of education and global experiences of their students.”

AALE accreditation demonstrates that AUK utilizes the best traditions of liberal education, and certifies that the Divisions of Arts and Humanities and Social Sciences as well as the General Education Programs meet International Accreditation standards. AUK President Dr. Winfred Thompson recognized the significance of this step forward saying, “Our aim is to aspire to the highest standard of quality, and with this award we are one step closer to ensuring that AUK provides the highest quality education in Kuwait and the region.”

The Academy’s Education Standards provide stakeholders in higher education, including parents and prospective students, with a clear means of identifying colleges and programs with focused, well-articulated goals for liberal learning in areas such as history, mathematics, science, literature, languages and philosophy, and with coherent approaches to liberal education.

Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Professor Nizar Hamzeh, thanked all those who have contributed to the AALE Self-Study, and in particular members of the AALE Steering Committee chaired by Dr. Rawda Awwad, Assistant Dean for Accreditation and Curriculum. He added, “From my own experience, receiving international program accreditation is not only a tremendous academic achievement but is a testimony to the excellent qualifications, hard work, and leadership and integrity enjoyed by the university faculty, administration and staff.”

The American University of Kuwait (AUK) is an independent, private, equal opportunity, and co-educational liberal arts institution of higher education. The educational, cultural and administrative structure, methods and standards of AUK are based on the American model of higher learning. The lanuage of instruction is English.

AUK and Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire (USA) have worked closley together since 2003, when the two institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding that facilitated a serios of advisory, consultative and cooperative projects. Dartmouth College is a member of the group of universities in the United States known as the “Ivy League”, more information on Dartmouth College can be found at www.dartmouth.edu<http://www.dartmouth.edu/>.

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Alumni Tips

Leaving the comfort of University life can be daunting for some alumni. It’s a start of a new life, new career and new responsibilities. Yes we are all professionals now but some of us might need a helping hand every now and then, this is when your alumni status comes to the rescue.

Looking for a job?

Stop by the Career Services & Wellness Center for:

• Career Counseling• Resume Editing• Career Fair• Or if you just need to see a friendly face!

Applying to Graduate School?

The Career Services & Wellness Center offers:

• Graduate School info• Resume Editing• Help with applications & Personal Statements

OR..

Take advantage of the classes offered by CCE to help you get better results on standardized testing:

• TOEFL• GRE• GMAT• IELTS

In Graduate School and need resources while on holiday?

Stop by the AUK Library to study, browse or checkout books for your research paper!

The campus community is here to assist you. Take advantage of the resources available to you as AUK Alumni.

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ALUMNI MEMBER BENEFITS:• YougetadistinguishedAUKAlumniUniversityIDCard• Acopyof ourquarterlynewsletter• Libraryaccessanddatabaseprivileges• Stayingintouchwithformerclassmates• Expandyournetworking

CCE offers all alumni 15% discounts on all courses, below is a list of some of the courses/programs/diplomas offered:

• Business English Program (10 levels)• Cambridge International Diploma in Business (6 modules)• Exam Preparation Courses (IELTS, TOEFL, GRE, GMAT, SAT, ICES, GED)• Leadership and Supervisory Skills (7 workshops)

For Further information please feel free to visit our link on the AUK website http://www.auk.edu.kw/cce/cce_main.jsp or contact us at (965) 2224-8399 ext. 137 email cce@auk.edu.kw.

Wewouldliketoremindouralumnithatthefitnessroomandclassesareopentoalumni.Pleasefindtheschedulebelowandwehopetoseesomeof yousweatingitout

with us!

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Where Are They Now?Noura Al-Nusif ’11 - The Bus Stop: Advertising Agency – Creative Director

Abdullah Al-Qatami ’11 – Burgan Bank – Customer Relation Officer

Hana Al-Arfaj ’11 – United Real Estate Co - Corporate Communication Specialist

Jawharah Sulaiman ’11 - Kuwait Oil Company - Assistant Analyst

Abdullah Al-Ghanem ’11 - Protivity Internal Audit Risk Advisory – Analyst

Mohammed Al-Wazzan ’10 - Ahli United Bank - Relationship Officer

Ghaida Al-Muhanna ’10 - Crowe Horwath - Business Manager

MohammadAl-Saqer’10-State Audit Bureau – Auditor

Mohamed Hassan ’10 - Noor Capital Market – Trainee

Ahmed Husain ’09 – Kuwait Municipiality - IT Programmer

Nour Mansour ’09 – AUK – Admin Specialist at the Division of Business & Eco-nomics

Taibah Al-Mershad ’09 – Pursuings a Master of Arts at Bond University in Aus-tralia

Nouf Al-Nafisi’09–ZAIN – PR Coordinator

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Alumni Feature

Saba Al-Fadhalah ’11

Saba, a recent AUK graduate and a former student worker is one of our brightest alum working at ZAIN. Hired just two months after Graduation, Saba, a Branding Coordinator at ZAINisoverflowingwithcreativity.Sherecentlyworkedona ZAIN Disability Day awareness campaign, which will be featured in newspapers and billboards in Dec.

Describe a typical day at ZAIN.

I arrive at 8 am, get my morning coffee, through the security gates, up the elevator and onto the Marketing floor.Myofficeisessentiallyalargeconferenceroomwithaconferencetable,awhiteboardandafewcubicles. After checking my work email it’s time to check the ZAIN website, update and maintain ZAIN branding. Some days are spent in and out of meetings while other are spent in my cubicle designing, designing, designing!

Ialsohavetomakebranchvisitsforbrandingandqualitycontrol.

How has your experience as a student worker at AUK helped you?

I was hired as a graphic designer although my major was not in graphic design. The department saw my portfolio and liked mywork!TheexperienceIgotdesigningflyers,invitationsandnewsletters such as this one helped show ZAIN my range of work. I learned skills that I never would have just from books and design, skills as simple as greeting a “customer” or just answering the officephone.

Do you have any advice to share with your fellow alumni?

I don’t have advice to our alumni but I hope that AUK students read this and know how wonderful life at AUK is! As a recent graduate, I miss the campus a lot and try to visit whenever there’s a big event, any excuse to be back on campus. There is a level of comfort and security that comes with being a student. GET INVOLVED, you never know what you might learn outside the classroom.

We are very proud of Saba and hope to hear more success stories from here and all our other alumni

Workshops

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Workshops

These are some of the workshops offered for students and alumni, if you are interested in the content please contact the Career Services and Wellness Center for our workshop archive.

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Upcoming Events

December 4th

Sign-Up Booth: Investment 101 & Portfolio Management WorkshopAUK Table Tennis Team Games

December 6th

Senior Launch Paintball

The Financial Chef: The Brains Behind The Food PhenomenaThe Tunisian Arab Spring: Lesson Learned

L.E.A.D. Worshop: “Launch It: Secerets behind MEGA Launchers”Academic Skills Workshop: “Presentation Skills”

“Wedding Crasher” Auditions

December 7th

Investment 101 Workshop (Day1)AUK Women’s Table Tennis Team Game

AUK Men’s Soccer Team Game

December 8th

Dribble, Shoot, Score & Juggling CompetitionStudent, Faculty/Staff, Alumni Soccer Tournament

AUK Under The Stars Raad & Afyouni Marketing SeminarInvestment 101 Workshop (Day 2)

AUK Backetball Team GamesAuk Women’s Table Tennis Team Game

Got Stuff ?We encourage and welcome submissions of articles, stories or any personal or professional news from our Alumni for the upcoming issue. Please send your submissions by email to dhtaqi@auk.edu.kw

American University of KuwaitPhone: 1-802040/ (+965) 2-224-8399 ext.478; Fax: (+965) 2-571-5863 Email: dhtaqi@auk.edu.kw