Keeping it in the family

Three members of a Kuwaiti family graduate with pride from Bangor University this week.

Aqeel and Mohammad Hamoud and Duhar Al-Etabi from Kuwait came to study for a BEng in Electronic Engineering, had mixed emotions about their three years at Bangor coming to an end. 

About their time at Bangor University, Aqeel said:

“We don’t know where to start, we can't believe that this is the end of our three year course. Time has gone very fast. Words can't express how exciting and difficult this journey has been for us. We are a family of three mature students from Kuwait, myself, my wife Duha and my brother Mohammad, came to study Electronics at Bangor University. On arrival for our first year of the degree we were two weeks late due to visa process issues. However, during our first meeting with tutor Dr Mohammad Mabrook, who was also our lecturer for our two modules during the first semester, he explained to us what we were expected to cover for these days and for the duration of the course: hard work and commitment, at the same time he was encouraging and reassuring.

“We felt very welcomed in our first week at Bangor University, as the School arranged extra lectures for us to cover what we had missed. The main observation in our first week was that all lecturers, and in particular Professor Paul Spencer, Dr Iestyn Pierce and our tutor Dr Mohammed Mabrook were always approachable and committed to help students. After a month in Bangor we went from being complete strangers and a small Kuwaiti family to being part of the Bangor University School of Electronic Engineering family. There was social interaction with other students in Bangor and everybody was friendly and helpful, even the public and police were always welcoming and helpful.  We really miss this atmosphere.

“Having a whole family studying on same course is a big challenge as we had to organise our time to fit with the course and our son’s school. I must say it was very difficult and exhausting for all of us, but is has been worth it, because when we accomplished our goals we did it not just for ourselves, but also for our child.

“We have fought a variety of battles during the course duration. Without the help of our amazing tutor and staff we couldn’t have overcome our difficulties. We always received the support, feedback and direction that we needed. For that, we would like to thank all the Electronic Engineering staff and in particular we would like to thank Mrs Sian Jones for her incredible encouragement and her excellent communication.

“Now at the end of this journey, Bangor holds a special place in our hearts, it is a vibrant, multicultural and safe place to live which is prefect for studying and Bangor has now become our second home.”

Publication date: 17 July 2015