~from intern Joyce Bohling

What’s your name?
Hanan Al-Qarni. Al-Qarni is my tribe name. Al means “the” and Qarni means “Qarnis.” Everyone from Bel Qarn, the place where I’m from in Saudi Arabia, has this last name.

What’s your major?
TESL/TEFL

What year?
I’m a second-year Master’s student.

What are you doing in Eddy Hall today?
I just finished my lecture, and I’m waiting for my father to pick me up and go to an elementary school. It’s part of the Global Ambassadors student program. Everyone will present about their country, explaining things like my last name, food, culture. Letting people know we are all the same, to respect everybody. It’s a great program.

Do you have a favorite moment in Eddy Hall?
All of them. Maybe Professor Tatiana [Nekrasova-Beker]. She’s from Russia. The reason she’s my favorite is, she always pushes us to write proposals for conferences or submit papers to be published. I’m going to submit something for conference last year. A lot of my classmates presented last fall.

Describe Eddy Hall in one word.
Bright.

How do you spend most of your time in Eddy Hall?
I don’t stay here a lot, but sometimes I go to the third floor, type things, print things, and talk to my professors.

What’s your favorite book or work of literature?
It’s in my language. The person who wrote it is from my tribe. But it’s very popular. It’s called Don’t Be Sad. It’s about not being sad over anything. To overcome everything and think positively.

Do you were to give advice to incoming CSU grad student in English, what would it be?
Be prepared to read a lot and manage your time well. Take advantage of resources that the university offers. There’s a lot of things we don’t know about until we graduate.