Justin Pizzala

It has been almost 20 years since Said J. Al-Qahtani was a student at
CMU, but he said he can still remember the layout of the campus and
Mount Pleasant.

He can easily recall Mission Street and Kroger Food and Pharmacy,
4080 E. Bluegrass Road. He remembers Ronan Hall, CMU’s former library,
where he spent most of his time studying and staring out the window at
the snow falling.

Al-Qahtani graduated from CMU in 1986 as an international student
from Saudi Arabia.

He chose CMU because of the good reputation Michigan schools have in
his country.

“American people, they are friendly,” he said. “Compared to other
nations they are completely different.”

Now married with six children, he since has moved back to the Middle
East, working for his country and Saudi Basic Industrial Corp., where
he is executive director and shareholder of Consolidated Mining Co. Ltd.

His line of work demands a lot of travel, and Al-Qahtani has been
all over the world, including Europe and Africa. He has met numerous
people, but said he is most fond of Americans.

He said he appreciates Michigan’s climate and geography. He said he
loves the snow, unlike many Michiganians, and described the state as
“beautiful.”

“I see Mount Pleasant as my second home,” he said. “It is my dream
to have a little house for vacation.”

Currently, two of his children are taking English Language
Institute classes at CMU.

“He (Said Al-Qahtani) said there are good schools to learn English,”
Abdulaziz said. “And good people.”

The brothers were quick to make friends, despite the limited amount
of English both speak.

Abdulaziz said he already loves Mount Pleasant and the different
culture it has to offer.

Some fatherly advice Al-Qahtani recommend was that they get their
degree, be involved and take full advantage of being in a modern
society.

“I want them to be good examples for our country,” Al-Qahtani said.

CMU made quite an impression on Al-Qahtani.

Before he left campus he made sure to buy a CMU sticker to place on
his car window in Saudi Arabia. He also expressed the gratitude he has
for the Office of International Education staff and faculty and said he
wished CMU could offer classes in Saudi Arabia.

E-mail the author: Dana DeFever