Abdulrahman Darwish Fakhroo: Discovering a passion for understanding  

As we approach Graduation Day for the Class of 2024, we are sharing the stories of just a few of these remarkable people who will receive their degrees on May 6. Today we learn more about Abdulrahman Darwish Fakhroo, who was selected to represent the class as Student Speaker.

Abdulrahman Darwish Fakhroo was drawn to the CMU-Q business administration program because of its strong, quantitative approach. Over his four years of study, he discovered a keen interest in the human side of business and society.   

“Carnegie Mellon was always my first choice, the program was meant for me,” he said. “At an American university, you take a lot of different elective courses, and I realized I’m really interested in human behavior and understanding how humans really think.”

Abdulrahman explored different aspects of human behavior through elective courses, including those in his minor field of history. 

“I ended up doing independent studies in history with both Professor Ben Reilly and Professor Deepa Nair,” he said. “It was a fascinating way to learn that even in different places at different times, human motivation is very similar.”

Student life was an essential part of Abdulrahman’s university experience. He was active in clubs and activities, and served as head of communications for Student Majlis.

“While Carnegie Mellon was an amazing institution academically, it was also an amazing institution socially. And that’s definitely something I’m going to miss—the full package of Carnegie Mellon, getting that amazing diploma, but also getting that amazing social life that comes with it.”

Abdulrahman has been selected to represent the Class of 2024 as student speaker at the graduation ceremony. 

“Representing the class is a huge honor,” he said. “We didn’t have the most traditional experience, starting during COVID, but we went through it together, and we came out pretty strong in the end. I’m a bit biased, but I believe the Class of 2024 is the best batch of Carnegie Mellon students.”