Current students have a great deal to gain from hearing about the success and achievements of alumni members. We conducted this interview with Mr. Karl Haddad in order to showcase an example of someone who completed his studies, was awarded his degree and decided to follow his ambitions and the goals which he had set for himself. The lesson here – whether you are a student or an employee – is to aim high!

To begin with, I would like you to tell us a little bit about yourself.

With pleasure! My name is Karl Haddad and I currently work for World Vision, as a Sponsorship Transformation Leader. World Vision is a Charity Foundation that deals with children specifically. It has a presence in 110 countries and serves about 100 million children around the world on a daily basis.

What was your major, when you were studying at Intercollege?

I was studying Business Administration and graduated in 1999 with an Associate Degree. Then, I went to Switzerland to complete my degree in Hotel Management.

How did you find yourself working for such an NGO given that you had majored in Business and Hospitality? 

Well, briefly put, I spent half of my career working outside of education, which probably all of you will end up doing. [Laughs] I was lucky; I was in the right place at the right time and in the right business. I worked in real estate in Dubai, on the investment side. At some point, I decided to change my lifestyle, so I went from working crazy hours, selling buildings and villas and plots, to taking about a four year sabbatical, where I traveled around the world doing humanitarian work. Initially, I thought it would last for six months but it was so exciting, fun and fulfilling that it became almost a four year journey. I travelled to 44 countries, and I financed, supported and initiated 54 different projects – from high up in the mountains of Nepal to the rocks and reefs of Belize in the Caribbean, and from disaster zones such as Haiti, to simply poor countries like Cambodia.

During these travels, were you already part of World Vision or did you discover and fund the abovementioned projects on your own?

I funded those projects myself during those four years.  It was a personal initiative – my journey through life, which needed to be answered and fulfilled. Then, I joined World Vision as an extension of my passion. Well, let me tell you something, sometimes it’s better to have a job related to your passion, because then your passion becomes your job and your job becomes your passion.

When you started studying, did you see yourself ending up in this field of work; has it been something you always wanted to do?

I think inherently, most people want to help others in one way or another. You can help someone with a very simple gesture or a greater one such as building a school. I think I have always wanted to do something good; I just never knew I would be fortunate enough to be able to do as much as I did and at such a young age.

Returning to your time here at UNIC, how would you describe the degree and your time here?

[Laughs] To be honest, I don’t remember much about studying here, but I do remember that I enjoyed most of my classes and I always felt that the staff was of a very high caliber, as was the curriculum.

If you could go back in time, would you change anything?

No. I think I’m very happy. It’s a good question but it’s a hard one to answer because everything you did, led you to where you are now.  And if you are happy where you are, then maybe changing one thing would distort the whole situation.

Have you ever thought of pursuing another degree – for example, a Masters degree?

You know, I feel as though I have a Doctorate in life, as I think most people do by the time they are 35. [Laughs] I actually would like to pursue a PhD at some point.

In what field?

Probably an Environmental or Humanitarian related degree.

When you set off on your four year journey, did this initiative begin from something that you saw, something that happened to you or someone close to you that made you feel as though you had to help or was it something that you just wanted to do?

It was a very personal journey; the things that made me change my life, from having a very social, fun, extravagant lifestyle to pretty much eating out of refugee camps, where you don’t even have pills for the strain of malaria that they have there… I think I answered a calling. I feel I did the right thing at the time. Could have I done more? Yes. Will I do more? I will.

Do you think people should be more involved in philanthropic causes? Do you think people should be encouraged to help others?

Well, you have to consider human nature. Whether we like it or not, humans can be inherently selfish. In other words, we aim to best serve ourselves and for some of us, we aim to serve others. Yet, there is that grey zone where it is in serving others that we serve ourselves because we find fulfillment in doing so. So, yes, I think we do need more. When I was President of the Student Union in 1998-1999, we tried our best to connect, to create a culture of volunteerism, a culture of giving, of advocacy, to fight for our rights or for other people’s rights, to support anyone in need of help.

Do you think that the University could do something to encourage this, perhaps by offering a series of seminars?

Of course! I think that very good models exist in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Norway, Sweden, etc) where volunteerism is actually part of the degree programme.  If students do not fulfill a certain amount of time each year – which could be as little as ten hours per year – volunteering for a project then they are not able to complete their degree. It may seem like it’s being enforced on the students, however, once this policy is put into place then slowly a new culture begins to develop. A new door appears and students get to walk through and explore what is on the other side.

Do you still keep in touch with your fellow classmates?

Yes, of course!

Are they involved in what you do?

No, we all took very different paths.

So no one followed the same path as you?

No, but they are all doing extremely well. One of them is Head of Research at Yahoo Middle East, while others are living in Scotland, where they have their own businesses. Everyone has done well; they are managers, directors, business owners, etc.

Do you feel that what you have done until now is enough or do you think you could have been somewhere else by now?

I think I could definitely have been at a higher level in my career because I actually left at my peak. I walked away from everything for six years. Could I have done better? I think it depends on how someone conceptualizes the word better.

Better in the sense that you could have more control over what you do? That you could have more authority at World Vision or do you have enough authority to make important decisions there?

I think I’m in a good place. I mean we always want more! [Laughs] I feel that I am balanced now. I’ve been able to fulfill different parts of myself; my spiritual side, my mental side, my need to travel and have adventures. I mean, you could say that if I were still in real estate, I might have been worth 100 million Euros by now. However, it’s still just a number. If I were still in real estate, would I have travelled to 44 countries by now? Most likely, I would have a family with three children and would live in a nice, fancy house with five cars!

So you feel fulfilled with what you have done then?

Yes, definitely.