Abdullah stands out with his leadership quality
he established the Kuwait Students Association, encouraging his conational to mingle and get involved with other cultures.
Soon after graduation in 2009 Abdullah was offered the opportunity of working with an International Law Firm in Washington DC as a Legal practice Assistant on Climate Change and Sustainability; there, through scientific and legal research he was providing day to day support to legal teams within the practice; he was also conducting detailed research on Blowout preventers with respect to dispute arising out of the Gulf of Mexico’s Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. Part of his responsibility was monitoring legislative progress through Congress, drafting policy documents and communication tools; assisting in advising foreign governments through coordinating contacts with Capitol Hill state officials and working with the media on international trade, environmental affairs and energy issues.
Incidentally, the winter of 2010, at the time he was working in Washington DC as a Legal Research pertinent to the environment, the snowfall was so severe that for a whole week it crippled the nation. Public transportation was shut down, walking was the only way of moving from A to B. Abdullah had booked a hotel close to his work but he was looking for an apartment close-by. Those he found were too expensive, so he searched for a more convenient accommodation. A walk away from his work he found the International Students House, a non-profit organization run by a board of trustee. He thought to book a room for a fortnight but when he went to it the person in charge came straight to the point. “It is not a hotel; actually we look for high caliber young professionals from 25 to 35 years of age with high aspirations for intercultural dialogue.”
“You are speaking my language,” said Abdullah.
Minimal
There was only one bedroom left and the minimal term for staying in the house was for three months, but Abdullah could negotiate for one month staying. He then had to write an application paper stating his cultural background, how he could advance the cultural dialogue in the House, and how he could fit in it. At his return to the hotel he wrote the application specifying his intention and after three days he was accepted.
His sojourn at the International Students House, mingling with young high-caliber multi-disciplinary young professionals from many countries and cultural backgrounds was an amazing learning experience that made him to stay at the house for full term he was in Washington, DC. The atmosphere in it was ideally suited to his temperament — in the morning breakfast was served, he walked to work after which he went to the gym, in the afternoon he played football with the House’s team and, in the evening he indulged in conversations on all sort of educated issues. The time he spent at the House broadened his intellectual horizon and enabled him to make many good friends with whom he still keeps in touch.
The House had rules every resident had to observe; Abdullah became part of the Board of Trustees responsible of closing the gap between the residents and the Board of Trustees; dinner was served in the evening from 6.30 to 7.30 pm. Sometime the House held events in which speakers were invited from the USA Congress or from other high institutions; during discussion the residents were welcomed to join in.
Another great educational opportunity that made him realize the convergence between theoretical studies and practice was working as an Environmental Health and Safety Intern with a multi-disciplined team at the Hunt Oil Company in Dallas, Texas, where he conducted detailed environmental impact assessments and gained skill in an overview of multi-jurisdictional oil and gas projects. Incidentally this experience and his position as a Legal Practice Assistant in 2010 at the Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in Washington DC overcame his reluctance to study law.
That same year (in 2010) Abdullah moved to London, UK, to study law at the Queen Mary University, one of the best in the UK after to Oxford and Cambridge Universities. There he felt the challenge of legal education that required most of his time in investigation and in mastering rhetoric (how to talk, how to think and how to engage with people).
At the time he was at the university he became part of the Queen Mary Law Society and of the Queen Mary Pro Bono Society, he also became an International Students Ambassador for GCC new students, showing them around.
Besides studying, from October 2012 till August 2013 Abdullah was part of the Legal Advice Team Volunteering in London (The Toynbee Hall Legal Advice Volunteering Center, the oldest surviving free legal advice center in the world ) In it as a legal adviser Abdullah was interviewing clients from the general public, assessing their legal problems, researching, finding and interpreting all the relevant information in order to assist his client, and when necessary act in his behalf negotiating or writing letters to his creditor or making appropriated referrals.
In London Abdullah was also an active member of the Street Law Sub Committee working with the Pro Bono society and Community Centers for the prevention of crimes and drug abuse. Going to the South of London and to other potentially dangerous neighborhoods to educate the young people in particular on how the law interacts with them if they live outside the law, was an exciting and challenging experience for Abdullah, whose adventurous spirit needs to satisfy a certain curiosity without which life is boring.