Interview with  Ahmed Hassan Yahia Al-Mahfadi
Interview with  Ahmed Hassan Yahia Al-Mahfadi

"I am the kind of person who takes decisions after consulting others to gather knowledge from their life experience and apply it."

Ahmed Hassan Yahia Al-Mahfadi 
Proposal & Budgeting Coordinator
Save the Children International
Yemen

Master of International Business Administration Batch 2021

Please tell us about yourself and your family. 

My name is Ahmed Al-Mahfadi. I am 38 years old, and I am working for a humanitarian organization in Yemen, Sana’a as a Proposal & Budgeting Coordinator. I graduated in Commerce and Economics from Sana’a University in 2011.

I am married with three children, two daughters and a son.

What drew you to the program you are studying at Athena? Do you think it will help you to realize your career goals?

It was high time to sharpen my skills and gain some educational qualifications to improve myself and keep in pace with modern technological developments. I wanted to be aware of the most modern ways of international studying by choosing this program in your esteemed organization.

What would you like to learn next? What are your next career steps?

To be honest, I am planning to acquire some specialized certificates in the major I have been interested in for long. I also wish to brush up my knowledge by enrolling in some accounting certificate programs such as CPA, CMA, and ACCA.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I am rather busy nowadays with work-load which leaves me with little spare time. However, I am trying to spend that time with my family.

Suppose you had to live alone on a deserted island for a month. What are the 3 things you will bring with you?

My phone, so I can check on my family every now and then.
Second, some interesting books to occupy my time with.
A lighter 😊, I have seen the Cast Away movie, and the lighter was the most sought-after item the protagonist was in dire need of.

If you face a problem at work, what is the first thing you do?

We are working as a team at my workplace so if there is a problem at work, the first thing I would do is talk to my team and my line manager.

I can use the previous work experience to check on the challenges my team is facing and figure out the issue that might need to be solved the same way or needs more attention if required.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your life? How did you tackle it?

Honestly, I do not recall that I have been in such a position in my life. However, I am the kind of person who takes decisions after consulting others to gather knowledge from their life experience and apply it.

For example, I chose this project after consulting some of my friends. We sat and discussed thoroughly, and then came up with some bullet heads that could be functional to our next career move.

If you could only change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I am too naive and trusting of people. If they say something, I believe it. It has led me to have my heart broken a lot.

If I could change one thing about myself, it’s that I wouldn’t be so trusting of people. I am done with that. I am never getting my heart broken again.

What did you want to become when you were a child?

A pilot, but it seems that so many things cannot come true in the place where I was born.

We are living in a world where everything has been destroyed, and we have been in a war for ages.

Yemeni people are suffering and struggling to get on with their lives, not to mention living with famine and poverty. 

What are the last book you read and the movie you saw?

The last book was Ulysses by James Joyce, and the last movie was Limitless.

Who is the person you admire most and why?

My father is the person I admire most on this earth.

Whenever I learn or read something, I find my father has more interesting sides than I could ever think of.

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