Hard Work for Kuwaiti Student Pays Off at Temple University
By Bruce E. Beans
Abdullah Alshuraim
Abdullah Alshuraim spent years working various jobs in Kuwait in order to save up for his first year of American education at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He launched his own customized tee-shirt and hooded-sweatshirt business. He interned in the marketing department of the Australian College of Kuwait, where he earned his diploma. He worked in several call centers for the National Bank of Kuwait and worked for a Kuwaiti marketing firm.
And once he got to Temple in 2012, to support himself and further pay for his first year he worked half days in the university’s International Admissions office, communicating with other international students seeking admission. Was it worth it?
“Temple University offers you more than you expect,” says Alshuraim, a sophomore focusing on the marketing potential of social media—a potential that he believes is untapped in Kuwait.
Noting that the university’s Fox School of Business is highly ranked —in 2012, U.S. News & World Report called it one of America’s top eight business schools on the rise—Alshuraim says, “The professors have a lot of faith in their students and give you a lot of responsibility, which is good for your self-esteem. Also, the outside speakers who give lectures and the studies the school conducts all give you a very good understanding of the business markets, which makes you attractive to employers.”
He has learned outside of class as well. “I would describe my experience at Temple as rich,” says Alshuraim, who earned a full scholarship from the Kuwaiti government after his first year at Temple. “To live with a roommate, to adopt new behaviors, to learn new skills and to have a conversation with a stranger, to see things from more than one perspective, are all sources of knowledge outside of the classroom.”
That happens all the time at Temple, where his friends include students from the U.S., England, France, Columbia, Venezuela, the Middle East, Indonesia, China and South Korea. He says that’s also true of Philadelphia, a historic city conveniently located between New York City and Washington, D.C., where, he says, “around every corner you might find someone who can give you a completely new perspective.”
He has also enjoyed attending the National Union of Kuwaiti Students-USA Branch’s massive annual conference in San Diego, California, and, at Temple, serving as the host of the Temple Arab Students Society’s Liberation Day of Kuwait celebration. “It was a really nice experience to get people from different countries to learn more about our country,” he says. “I loved it.”
