Foundations Newsletter

After a couple of years of being Chair of Foundations for Ras Al Khaimah’s Women’s College, Sarah Whittaker moved on to Dubai, to a different position within the HCT system, leaving a void that was, undoubtedly, hard to fill. Andrew Bown, General Education Chair at Ras Al Khaimah Men’s College stepped up to the plate and, despite having an astronomical load to juggle, did a great job keeping things together while the biggest department in the college looked for a suitable lead. Just in time for the start of second semester, however, RKWC Director Dr. Ali Al Mansoori announced that homegrown success story Shamma Al Naqbi would be taking over the reins to lead Foundations into the future.

Ms. Al Naqbi was born and raised in Ras Al Khaimah, in a small town called Khatt. She graduated from Al Humham High School and joined RKWC as a Foundations student in 2003. After just one year in the program, she entered into the Bachelor of Education program. “I always wanted to be a teacher,” she says. “And my time as a student here was the best period of my life. I had the chance to take part in different clubs and activities that helped me shape my personality and my future.”

After graduating in 2008 with a B.Ed in English Language Teaching in School (ELTS), Ms. Al Naqbi travelled to Australia where she completed a Master’s Degree in TESOL at the University of Melbourne. “Living in Australia and away from my family and friends was a huge challenge,” she says. “But I was always determined to make my country, family, friends and students proud.” She adds that she also wanted to send a message to all of her students that nothing is impossible if they work hard and believe in themselves.

Making the switch from being a faculty member in the Education department to being Chair of Foundations was a challenge for Ms. Al Naqbi, but a welcome one. “It took me some time to adjust to the new position, but it is a challenge that I am happy to take on and I am planning to make a difference, Inshallah. I am working with wonderful team members who are always around to help and support me.”

Part of the challenge is getting used to being behind a desk rather than in front of a class, learning different requirements of the program and learning to balance the needs of the RKWC Foundations faculty and students. Not to mention all of the issues that are normally experienced at the first of every semester by even the most seasoned managers, including schedule shifts and moving students. Perhaps the bigger challenge – even more so than working this semester with 27 teachers and around 600 students – is rising up to what the job really means. “To be the first Emirati in the HCT system to take such a position puts a lot of pressure on me, and I am working to prove to the management that I can do it,” she says. “I hope that I can help open doors for other local ladies to do the same.”

It’ll be an exciting and interesting first semester for Ms. Al Naqbi, but she’s moving forward positively every day. Not surprisingly given her background in education, her first priority is the students. “I am planning to make the transition from schools to higher education as easy as I can for them,” she says. “With my team we are planning to improve the rate of success in the program and help all students to achieve their goals of being successful and move forward to the Bachelor programs.”