Over 10,000 residents call the DQ home. Meet Your Neighbor profiles interesting people in our international DQ Community. Learn about the diverse experience, interests, and backgrounds of DQ dwellers. Read on, and Meet Your Neighbor.
Tell us about yourself.
I grew up in a small town in Minnesota (the US), but I was lucky to spend one year in Paris, when I was eleven years old. I think that was when I realized how big the world was. When I learned French, it was like suddenly I had a new personality, and that ‘new’ person had access to people and places my American, English-speaking self, did not. I love the idea that you can learn a language and find yourself seeing a culture from the inside, rather than as an outsider.
How would family and friends describe you?
I asked my kids this one, and they said: hard working, driven, organized, focused, kind.
What brought you to Riyadh?
I was hired by UNICEF to start its social policy program here in the Gulf, based in Riyadh.
What led you to your career and how has Saudi Arabia helped you in your career goals?
Most of my career has been with UNICEF. When I was in second grade, I sent a one-dollar bill to Save the Children after seeing one of their ads in my parents’ magazines. I was fortunate to have a magical childhood and always felt it was so unfair that not all kids grew up lost in their own imaginations, due to their circumstances.
I have always enjoyed working in environments where UNICEF needs to use a lot of persuasion to convince the government to make small changes in policies that benefit children. Originally my position was supposed to be based in Bahrain, but with COVID, the situation changed and it was moved to Riyadh. I feel very lucky to have come to Riyadh when it is attracting people and talent from across the country and around the world.
What are you most proud of accomplishing so far?
I am very proud to have worked through August here for two years in a row! Somehow I was able to adjust a bit to the heat, though never entirely. I am proud to have made a nice community for my kids and myself and to have transitioned this family from a rural part of the US to Riyadh. Now it feels like home.
What are your thoughts and insights on being a resident of Saudi Arabia?
It is such an interesting time to live in Saudi Arabia, while so many aspects of life and society are in transition. I love the friendliness of the Saudi people. They are genuinely curious about where I am from and like to ask me questions. I am always looking to practice my Arabic and often they are looking to practice their English. As long as I can remember, Saudi Arabia has felt like an important geo-political force, but with less media coverage (in the West) of its human interest. I have enjoyed developing friendships and having everyday interactions that add color to my mental image of Saudi Arabia.
What do you like most about the DQ?
The bougainvillea and the way I run into people I know everywhere. It gives Riyadh, an otherwise huge city, the feeling of a small village. I love Rock Park. Once I was walking through and a woman was holding a fussy baby. I put my hands out to hold the baby, and she handed him to me and was very grateful. I immediately thought ‘I have never lived anywhere where a person would hand her baby to a stranger.’ How wonderful! I was so happy to chat with this family who turned out to be Saudi. I also love the DQ Tennis Club where I watch my kids play.
Photo credit: Malak’s Space
