Meral Ahmad

I attended both DEMS and DHS in Dhahran from second grade straight through to 12th grade for a total of ten years. After graduating from DHS in 2011, I attended American University in Washington, D.C. where I received a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Public Health and University of Cincinnati in Ohio where I received a Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling. I am a therapist and currently working as a school counselor.

I definitely think my school experience was special. I’ve spent the past ten years in different parts of the world, meeting different types of people, and no one had the opportunities or the quality of education I had at DEMS and DHS. When I was younger, I didn’t understand how special it was to have the chance to go on service trips every year and to go to school with people from all over the world. That kind of exposure has made me a more compassionate and open person.

My favorite part about school was being able to play team sports. I was on every team and going to practices and participating in tournaments was such a blast! I really miss being able to do that the most.

The high demands of my curriculum in high school really helped me going into university life. It wasn’t as much of a shock because I had already experienced the workload from advanced placement classes. I also took on many leadership opportunities throughout school with National Honor Society and student council which helped me be a more confident person.

I think I am most proud of the fact that I left school a well-rounded person. I did well in academics as well as sports and other after school activities. I wasn’t exceptional in one or the other, but I think that has helped me maintain a really healthy balance in all aspects of my life.

I faced many challenges at school! I was struggling academically in 11th grade and that really shook my confidence. I had never worked so hard for such little reward before and I wasn’t really sure what to do. But I leaned on my family and teachers a lot during that time and got through it. For any current high schoolers reading this right now struggling with the same thing, my advice would be to hang in there! As long as you’re honest and work hard, you’re going to be just fine.

If I had it to do all over again, I think I would be more mindful and grateful for being able to travel to all the places I did with school. I didn’t really realize how special that was and I would take more time to absorb it. My advice to the current students is to savor every moment! Don’t stress about things too much. Be honest and approach everything with integrity and things will be just fine.