CELOP Alumni: Where are They Now? Abdulrahman Alhejaili, Saudi Arabia

in Highlight
January 17th, 2018

1. What is your name?

My name is Abdulrahman Alhejaili; I go by Abdul

2. Where are you from?

I’m from Makkah city, Saudi Arabia.

3. Where do you live now?

I live in South Lawrence, MA

4. When and for how long did you study at CELOP?

I studied at CELOP for five semesters from September 2013 to April 2015.

5. Why did you choose CELOP?

I chose CELOP for two reasons. First, it was recommended to me by my cousin’s friend. He told me that CELOP will prepare me well for my Master’s degree. Second, CELOP has excellent reputation and great methods of teaching English.

6. What were some of the things you liked most about CELOP? Do you have a favorite memory?

There were a lot of things I liked about CELOP such as field trips, student activities, conversation club and the Pizza Party at the end of each semester. The most amazing thing that I loved about CELOP was the diversity of the student body; it was like the global village to me. I had the chance to meet a lot of students from different countries and became friends with a lot of them. Now, I have friends from Brazil, Mexico, China, Japan, Venezuela, Panama, Germany, Thailand, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, South Korea, Spain, and Libya. I still connect with them via Facebook and Instagram. My favorite memory was a trip to Salem, MA with my instructor, Susan Barry and my classmates to experience Halloween. It was in my first semester and it was amazing.

7. In what ways did CELOP help you prepare for what you are doing now?

When I came to CELOP, I did not speak English and started from Level A. CELOP taught me the language and prepared me to achieve my master’s degree which is one of my goals in this life. Beside that, there are a lot of skills in English that I learned from CELOP. For instance, in my graduate program, I was required to do a lot of presentations and I was very comfortable presenting because this skill was acquired at CELOP. In addition, I still follow my teacher Olivia Szabo’s advice which is to memorize 5-10 words each week by writing them in sentences in nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. This method has helped me to extend my English vocabulary. CELOP was a great place for me to master the language.

8. Where did you attend college for your undergraduate degree? What was your major and when did you graduate?

I earned my undergraduate degree in Mass Communication from Umm Al- Qura University in Makkah city, Saudi Arabia in 2012 and I just finished my masters’ degree in Communication Management from Emerson College, Boston, MA in May 2017.

9. Where are you working/studying now?

Since I finished my maters’ degree, I have been doing freelance work while I am looking to find an internship in a Public Relations Agency in Boston. If I do not find one by Jan 15^th 2018, I will go back to my country to expand my career opportunities.

10. Tell us about what you want to do in the future. What is your dream job?

I want to do a lot of things in the future, but my main goal is to find a job in the communication field as my undergraduate and graduate degrees concentrate on communication. I can apply all the skills that I have learned to my new position. A second thing I would like to do in my future is to volunteer outside my country because volunteering provides a lot of lessons such as gaining new skills, solving problems, rescuing people lives and making a difference in society. Another thing I would like to do is traveling as it will expose me to new people, cultures and lifestyles. My dream job is to work in the Federation International Football Association (FIFA) because I love soccer and I still enjoy watching and playing it.

11. What was your favorite thing to do in Boston?

My favorite thing to do in Boston is to attend Celtics games because basketball is my second favorite sports after soccer. Also, I enjoyed going to a lot of places such as Boston Common, Public Garden and Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science and many others cultural landmarks.

12. What was your favorite restaurant in Boston?

It is called Maggiano’s and it is an Italian restaurant. Their delicious Spaghetti and Meatball remind me of my mother’s spaghetti and meatball and my American roommate introduced me to it.

13. What would you tell someone who is thinking about studying at CELOP but is unsure?

GO FOR IT! Trust me; you will not regret it. If I did not study at CELOP, I would not have achieved my Masters’ degree.