"The journey that took me to AGS from 2014 to 2016 is quite unique. It may have been driven by chance but seems to have been perfectly planned by fate. It all began in 2010, when I did a one-year exchange program at Drexel University in Philadelphia, as part of my five-year Bachelor’s program at the American University in Cairo. That study abroad year in the United States ignited in me a passion for endless travel, which shaped the life decisions that I was going to make after graduating with my Bachelor’s degree in 2012. I decided to get some work experience abroad before settling down, and that is how I started working in Turkey for two years. Through an organization named AIESEC, I found a position in Bursa, as an International Sales and Marketing Executive. My job mainly consisted of travelling internationally and attending fairs and exhibitions to market products around the world. However, halfway through the second year, I felt that all of my energy and efforts were being used towards corporate profits. I wanted to combine my passion for travel with another passion and drive: dedicating my efforts to the helpless in the society I live in. Although I had a stable job with a gratifying income and travel opportunities, I started to look for a complete career shift. I wanted my efforts and energy to have a more meaningful and useful impact on society. As soon as I realized that, I immediately quit my job, travelled three months on a road trip through Latin America, attended the World Cup in Brazil (working with the FIFA), visited friends in Argentina, Peru and Mexico, and while doing all of that, reflected on my future. I realized that I could make a change by working for international organizations or as a diplomat to help my country. Thus, I started applying to a few universities that offer Master’s programs in International Relations in English in Western Europe (specifically Paris and Germany). I was lucky enough to be selected by AGS to become part of this small but great school with excellent students and professors. I just finished my two-year Master’s program and have done an amazing internship at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. This will be my gateway to the dream that I formed in 2014 when I quit my job in Turkey and and started travelling around the world. I worked in the Culture sector, where my mission focused on the UNESCO Sharjah Prize for Arabic Culture. My tasks were mainly dedicated to the organization of two events for the prize: the Jury meeting and the ceremony. I had to work with employees from all over the world, discuss different opinions, research cultural articles and write articles related to culture, translate the UNESCO Sharjah Prize website into several languages (English, French, and Arabic), and formulate a communications strategy for the prize. This internship has been a great means towards my hopeful ends, which consist of entering the realm of international organizations. I was offered a job at UNESCO, but declined it because I am very focused on the goal that I set for myself, and the dream that I have been pursuing since I quit my job and wandered the streets of Egypt, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Mexico. Helping the needy, the helpless, and the unheard is my way to attain inner satisfaction, and a small effort to make this world a better place. I am pretty confident that I was given all the tools during my studies at AGS and during my internship at UNESCO to reach this goal and dream. Now celebrating my Master’s degree is a decisive step. My plan is to go back to my beloved Egypt and work for one of the international organizations there to help eradicate hunger, and/or to help the war refugees. At the end of the day, this should be our life goal or dream: finding our happiness in helping others or in the happiness of others."
Ruchi AnandIndia Ph.D Associate Professor School of International Relations
The 'AGS experience' is about travelling through various places, spaces, contexts, perspectives, theories, approaches and ideas, colored in different nationalities, accents, cultures and identities, all at one place. The AGS corridors may be short but they are wide if you let your minds roam free.
"The journey that took me to AGS from 2014 to 2016 is quite unique. It may have been driven by chance but seems to have been perfectly planned by fate. It all began in 2010, when I did a one-year exchange program at Drexel University in Philadelphia, as part of my five-year Bachelor’s program at the American University in Cairo. That study abroad year in the United States ignited in me a passion for endless travel, which shaped the life decisions that I was going to make after graduating with my Bachelor’s degree in 2012. I decided to get some work experience abroad before settling down, and that is how I started working in Turkey for two years. Through an organization named AIESEC, I found a position in Bursa, as an International Sales and Marketing Executive. My job mainly consisted of travelling internationally and attending fairs and exhibitions to market products around the world. However, halfway through the second year, I felt that all of my energy and efforts were being used towards corporate profits. I wanted to combine my passion for travel with another passion and drive: dedicating my efforts to the helpless in the society I live in. Although I had a stable job with a gratifying income and travel opportunities, I started to look for a complete career shift. I wanted my efforts and energy to have a more meaningful and useful impact on society. As soon as I realized that, I immediately quit my job, travelled three months on a road trip through Latin America, attended the World Cup in Brazil (working with the FIFA), visited friends in Argentina, Peru and Mexico, and while doing all of that, reflected on my future. I realized that I could make a change by working for international organizations or as a diplomat to help my country. Thus, I started applying to a few universities that offer Master’s programs in International Relations in English in Western Europe (specifically Paris and Germany). I was lucky enough to be selected by AGS to become part of this small but great school with excellent students and professors. I just finished my two-year Master’s program and have done an amazing internship at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. This will be my gateway to the dream that I formed in 2014 when I quit my job in Turkey and and started travelling around the world. I worked in the Culture sector, where my mission focused on the UNESCO Sharjah Prize for Arabic Culture. My tasks were mainly dedicated to the organization of two events for the prize: the Jury meeting and the ceremony. I had to work with employees from all over the world, discuss different opinions, research cultural articles and write articles related to culture, translate the UNESCO Sharjah Prize website into several languages (English, French, and Arabic), and formulate a communications strategy for the prize. This internship has been a great means towards my hopeful ends, which consist of entering the realm of international organizations. I was offered a job at UNESCO, but declined it because I am very focused on the goal that I set for myself, and the dream that I have been pursuing since I quit my job and wandered the streets of Egypt, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Mexico. Helping the needy, the helpless, and the unheard is my way to attain inner satisfaction, and a small effort to make this world a better place. I am pretty confident that I was given all the tools during my studies at AGS and during my internship at UNESCO to reach this goal and dream. Now celebrating my Master’s degree is a decisive step. My plan is to go back to my beloved Egypt and work for one of the international organizations there to help eradicate hunger, and/or to help the war refugees. At the end of the day, this should be our life goal or dream: finding our happiness in helping others or in the happiness of others."
The 'AGS experience' is about travelling through various places, spaces, contexts, perspectives, theories, approaches and ideas, colored in different nationalities, accents, cultures and identities, all at one place. The AGS corridors may be short but they are wide if you let your minds roam free.