By James Hollo

Northwestern University in Qatar’s new student affairs specialist Katie Hyon finds Education City a one-of-kind system that will likely “never be repeated in any other country.”

“When I came to visit NU-Q’s campus for the in-person interview, I became fascinated and decided to take the offer and move to the Middle East,” she said. She now plans student events and makes sure life runs smoothly for NU-Q undergrads.

At NU-Q, she often shares her life motto with students, “Work hard, be kind, and amazing things will happen to you.

But Katie Hyon didn’t always have that kind of school spirit. After grudgingly enrolling at Rutgers, the university she applied to as a backup option in case others rejected her, Hyon was bitter. She viewed Rutgers’ orientation with irony and planned on transferring after her first year.

But in the process of making new friends and familiarizing herself with a place she thought only transient, something happened to the embittered freshman. At an orientation event where students on both sides of a street screamed to welcome fellow freshmen as they entered the university, Hyon spent 14 hours, from 4:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., screaming at the top of her lungs. She had so much fun that her perspective on the university changed.

“After that, I was sold on Rutgers,” said Hyon. “I withdrew all other applications and threw myself into campus life.”

As an undergraduate volunteer for student affairs, Hyon worked on the campus life program board. She organized “variety acts, novelty programs, stress-busters, giveaways, trips, and concerts.” She said that by the time she was a sophomore, she knew she wanted to work professionally with student life programs.

Hyon’s newfound passion made her undergraduate years a frenzy of clubs and student activity.

“I practically lived at the student center”, said Hyon. “Actually, it’s ridiculous that I even had to pay rent for an apartment near campus, that’s how much time I spent at the student center.”

After graduating, Hyon decided it was time to hit the big city. She moved to New York and lived in the artsy Chelsea neighborhood for four years, working in publishing and non-profits.

Despite her love for the East Coast, Hyon eventually left New York for Ann Arbor, where she received a master’s degree in higher education from the University of Michigan. In Michigan, she nurtured her love for American football, and watched U of M beat Ohio State University, Michigan’s top rival, in November 2011.

Hyon then went to work in Durham, North Carolina, at Duke University, before hitting the job trail and finding herself caught between follow-up interviews for Columbia University and Northwestern University in Qatar.

One of Hyon’s personal reasons for coming to Doha is that she loves to travel. Before coming to Qatar, she set a goal of traveling to 30 countries before she turns 30. It’s coming true: Hyon is 27 years old and has already been to 28 countries.

However, the proximity of Qatar to other countries caused Hyon to adjust her goal. “Now, I’ve expanded that to 40 countries by the time I’m 30.”