Grace Aoun Noujaim ’22

• Senior Executive Assistant at LAU’s Development Department
• Master of Science in Human Resources Management, Adnan Kassar School of Business

Having had to focus on both my academics and work along with my personal life, this forced me to develop my time management skills, which helped strike balance between performing my tasks effectively, excelling in my academics, and spending quality time with my family, especially after having been out of the classroom for 22 years.

Graduate school is more focused academically, and professors expect more from students, both in and outside the class. In addition to the required reading, assignments and studying for exams, I had to complete supplemental reading for research. After two decades of not being a student, it had been difficult to get back into the habit of splitting time between academia, a full-time job and personal time.

As master’s students in human resources management, we were required to complete a thesis and present it at the end of our program. That day, I learned things that I would never have learned in a classroom setting.

I just wanted to feel the excitement and nervousness of standing in front of the panelists and put my public speaking skills to test, as the oral defense was a first for me. Though similar to presenting in class, it was this wonderful moment when you are given the opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge in front of people who were waiting to be impressed and amazed. One of the things I have learned from this experience is to include the opportunity to demonstrate my work in a professional setting.