Maryam Alghannam - Academy for Future International Leaders

Maryam Alghannam
Petroleum Engineering
Maryam Alghannam is a senior majoring in Petroleum Engineering at
Texas A&M University. Upon graduation in August 2012, she will have
also completed a minor in Geology. Some of her hobbies are doing
Arabic calligraphy and Designing. Maryam was born and raised in
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. After graduating from high school with an
outstanding academic record, she received a full scholarship from Saudi
Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, to study abroad.
Throughout her life in the US, she has gotten the chance to experience life and culture of three
different cities: College Station, TX, Boston, MA, and New Orleans, LA. Growing up in Saudi
Arabiaand then moving to the US and being around people from different cultures and
backgrounds has helped Maryam further understand, appreciate, and enjoy differences between
cultures. It has also broadened her horizons and given her a new perspective on life.
During her time at A&M, Maryam hasn’t only devoted her time to academic achievements,
although this has been her first priority. She has also gotten involved in extracurricular activities
both on and off-campus. From her growing interest in cultures, Maryam served as the cultural
officer for Saudi Student Association at Texas A&M where she organized SSA participation in
cultural events in Bryan/College Station area, such as I-Week at A&M, Cultural Celebrations of
the Middle East at A&M, and Brazos Valley International Festival. Away from Texas A&M,
she worked as a student leader in Road to Success Orientations in Houston composed of
orientations, meetings, and activities organized by Aramco to help the new students coming to
the US adapt to their new lives. In addition, she became involved in volunteer work like Big
Event and Aggie Habitat for Humanity to give back to the community. Her extra-curriculum
activities contributed significantly to her leadership, management, and communication skills.
In addition to joining the Academy of Future International Leaders, Maryam will also join
Toastmasters to improve her public speaking skills. Also, she will be working in research with
Dr. Hisham Nasr El-Din, a faculty member in the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas
A&M.
As future goals regarding her career, as a petroleum engineer, Maryam would like to start
working for Saudi Aramco in the field of Reservoir Management. After getting some work
experience, she hopes to pursue higher degrees in reservoir engineering and move forward from
there. Outside of work, because of her interest in art and design, she hopes to design Abayas,
traditional Saudi women outfits.
By participating in AFIL, she will have a great opportunity to improve her communication and
leadership skills. Also, since the oil business is a highly international, she hopes that AFIL will

help her gain a global perspective on international issues such as energy resources and the
evolving new oil and gas market in India and China.