Originally published on TheLENS

Congratulations to CCRC students for their wins at the inaugural Seeds Awards, and being elected to the Graduate Student Council (GSC)!

Myriam Belmekki, a Ph.D. Student in the chemical engineering program at KAUST, supervised by Prof. Mani Sarathy, received an award in the Contribution to Student Life category. Myriam was recognized for being an active Resident Assistant within her team for the 2022-2023 academic year.

Some of her important duties as a Resident Assistant (RA) consisted in ensuring the physical and mental well-being of the residents living in her building, notably by collaborating with Facility Management (FM) and Student Counseling Services (SCS) as well as organizing monthly events for them. Her three most successful events were French Crepes Cooking with Neighbors, Islamic Geometry Art Workshop, and Board Games Night. These awards are designed to celebrate KAUST students’ achievements outside of their academic programs. 

Kudos also go to the newly elected Graduate Student Council (GSC) members from CCRC for the next academic year 2023-2024: 

• Ali Elkhazraji– Vice President (VP)
• Nicole Laws – Academic and Research Member (ARM)

Ali Elkhazraji is a Ph.D student in the mechanical engineering program at KAUST, supervised by Prof. Aamir Farooq. Ali Elkhazraji gave a speech on behalf of the newly elected GSC President, who could not attend the End of the Year Gala, to introduce the new GSC team members. 

Nicole Laws is a Ph.D. student in the mechanical engineering program at KAUST, supervised by Prof. William Roberts.

We would also like to mention CCRC students Ali Altowilib and Baqer Aljaman, who served on the GSC team during the 2022-2023 academic year as Graduate Life Officer and University Relations Officer, respectively.