FIRST PERSON
by Matthew Nelson and Basit Iqbal
In the foreword to the ACUHO-I Campus Housing Management Series, the editors ask, “what does it mean to work in campus housing?” In imagining a typical conversation with someone who is not versed in our work, when describing what we do, they repeatedly come back to the phrase: “Well, it’s more than that.”
This can be seen as simply a light-hearted response, because we know how dynamic and difficult to describe student housing work can be. However, sometimes even housing professionals have moments where our work is even more than we expected. This has been the case for Qatar Foundation Student Housing staff over the past two months, as we welcomed a unique group to our community.
It all began with a news story seen around the world. As the United States completed its withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, cameras caught and broadcast images of the subsequent evacuation of Afghans and expats. As a campus, at Qatar Foundation we were aware of the diplomatic and humanitarian role the State of Qatar was taking in the support of Afghans leaving their country. Hearing about this on the news, and having supported residents through previous crises arising from other unstable situations such as Yemen and Syria, we anticipated that students in our community may be impacted by these events. However, this time the situation was “more than that,” and people impacted by the events came to us in student housing.
In mid-August, while new students were participating in their university’s orientation in preparation for the fall semester, we discovered that we would be receiving 12 Afghans early the following week and they needed accommodation. Initially, we knew hardly anything about the group. As the date of their arrival neared, we learned that they would be nine students of varying ages with a mentor and two older adults. However, there remained many things we did not know, including what they would be bringing with them and what extra support they would need. Would they need clothing? Cell phones? What was their vaccination status and had they been tested for COVID-19? What languages did they speak and did we have anyone that could serve as a translator? Typically, there are assumptions we can make about the background and needs of students, but with this group that would not be the case.
We also came to learn that this group had a unique backstory. As they moved in, we started to hear more about their personal stories and soon learned that they were members of the well-known group of female Afghan students who competed as a robotics team. The team was known around the world for competing in international events, and gained renown as an example of what a BBC reporter called “the potential of women's education in Afghanistan.”
The implications of their identity quickly came into focus, as international media wanted to interview the young women and discuss their journey. QF’s Student Housing became the backdrop for the interviews, and a symbol of a new life for these young women as they prepared to continue their education at Qatar Foundation.
We dedicated a full-time residence life staff member to facilitate their support and transition. We also turned to our Education City community to provide a wraparound system of support. Student housing in Education City serves students of the eight higher education institutions in Qatar Foundation. It is part of a large ecosystem, and we leaned on these networks to pull together resources to support our newest Afghan residents.
They have now completed their quarantine period and settled into their regular assigned rooms in student housing. Our role is becoming normalized as well: less coordination of interviews with international media outlets or welcoming government officials, as we continue to help the students to integrate into the student housing community and their new surroundings, which has always been our priority.
As housing professionals, we have all been asked to do so much during the past 20 months that is out of the ordinary. For us, this has now included welcoming and supporting this group of Afghan students. Through this experience, we have had a chance to be a part of their inspiring story. We hope to continue to benefit their lives and contribute to their learning and development. But we know that, no matter how it is described to us, in housing our work is always “more than that.”
"First Person" is a column that allows ACUHO-I members a chance to put a personal spin on a news story. Matthew Nelson is the head of Residence Life at the Qatar Foundation and is the Global Initiatives Director for the ACUHO-I Executive Board. Basit Iqbal is a student housing supervisor at the Qatar Foundation.
