Saudis in America

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques scholarship program, undoubtedly the world’s biggest, was launched in 2006. King Abdullah issued a royal decree to initiate this program and billions of dollars were allocated for it.
The Ministry of Higher Education swung into action and the number of employees was increased at Saudi Cultural Attaches in many countries. Saudi students were encouraged to attend the best schools around the world.
Tens of thousands of Saudi students, male and female started attending schools in the US, UK, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, China and many other countries. Under this program, students are provided with air tickets, tuition fees and health insurance.
A fairly large number of students opted for the United States and the number has been increasing since the start of the scholarship program. The young Saudis traveling to new places had many questions in their minds like where to find suitable accommodations, car prices, language institutes and visa procedures, etc. The Ministry of Higher Education and the Cultural Attaché release many publications for the guidance of students, but hands on experience is very important to rely on any information.
In 2008, young Saudi student Shakir Ali, who is enrolled in a masters’ program, started to answer some questions regarding the procedures and other relevant information through Facebook.
The number of inquires grew so high that another student, Mishaal Al-Onazi, had to join in hands to cater to the needs of the hundreds of young Saudis. They dedicated a special page for this purpose and named it “Saudis in America.”
The page or the group as it is known in the FB jargon started to make a difference in the lives of the young Saudis studying in America. Later on, a young dynamic Saudi woman, Ghada Algunaim, joined the group and it gained immense popularity both in Saudi Arabia and the US.
Two years later, in 2010, another dynamic young Saudi joined the group who is pursuing his doctorate in computer science. He was Ayad Maki who worked on refining the website licensing. And later on the little organization had to hire more staff and transformed into a resource center for the tens of thousands of Saudi students in the United States.
I have followed some of the activities of this group and I have seen the questions many Saudi college and high school graduates ask before their enrollment in the scholarship program. At the same time, I have seen the precise answers that the Saudis In America Group posts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. The answers are very helpful, very detailed and reflect the amount of knowledge that Saudis in America Group have about life in America.
Now, Saudis in America has become a very important tool for Saudi students in obtaining access to vital information.

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