From humble beginnings to TAMUQ graduate

For Anurag Srivastava, joining Texas A&M University at Qatar was not like enrolling at just another university. He says the one thing that his parents have taught him, and his younger sister, is that their “education and character are the most important pieces of our identity, and with a good education one can achieve great success.”

Anurag’s family hails from a village in India that still doesn’t receive full time supply of electricity, with agriculture being the primary source of income of the people of the village. But hard work and dedication saw Anurag’s father earn a mechanical engineering degree, and eventually leave India to move to the Middle East for work.

“It is because of my parents’ hard work, and for everything that they have given my sister and me, that I am driven to be the best version of myself – not only academically but also as a person. I was a valedictorian in high school, and I represent Texas A&M University at Qatar as a proud Aggie.

“Being the first in my family to study in a foreign university, especially one with great prestige and honor like Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ), is something that I couldn’t have done without the support of my family,” Anurag says.

A proud TAMUQ student, Anurag is even wearing the Aggie ring at home these days. He says it’s a constant reminder that with the right mindset and commitment “IMPOSSIBLE” can become “I’M POSSIBLE”.

Anurag says that there have been times when his parents have been questioned by family, friends, and colleagues that why they let their son study in Qatar when he could receive the same type of education, which would also be less expensive, back in India. “My parents simply say that, ‘for us, the education of our children is the most important and we will do whatever it is within our capability to help support them.’ With this in mind, I keep reminding myself that there is something bigger happening with me studying at a university like TAMUQ.”

As Anurag graduates this year, he hopes that his example, among the many other examples of students from South Asian countries, will inspire others. By being a student at TAMUQ, he wants to show people in his community as well as others that if “we work hard, persevere, and never lose our focus, we too can achieve the success that we desire and bring happiness and joy to our loved ones through our actions.”