AUC Caravan

By Lena Aloumari

Managing ones academic demands whilst trying to hold up against the pressures of society can be very tiring for college students.

To help students cope with stress, the student mentoring unit at the American University in Cairo has organized a series of workshops to train students on success skills for college and life.

Students need to be educated on emotional intelligence to cope with stress at work and college.

“Everyone should be given the opportunity to learn more about emotional intelligence,” said Marwa Hussein, a mentor with the unit at the workshop last Wednesday.

“Students capabilities shouldn’t always be based on IQ, but [emotional intelligence] as well,” Hussein said.

Hussein also noted that many colleges and universities in the United States are adapting ideas of emotional intelligence into their curriculum and AUC is now following this trend.

The theory of emotional intelligence can be traced all the way back to Charles Darwin.

While researching his theory of natural selection, Darwin noted the importance of emotional expression for survival and adaptation. Since then the idea has gained recognition worldwide.

The student mentoring unit started launching its series of workshops in fall 2003 to help students become aware of their emotional intelligence. But before the workshops, the unit worked on helping students who face particular difficulties in their college life,such as probation.

“[The workshop] is very enriching,” said AUC student Kismet Waked.

“Had I learned this when I was a freshman, it would have opened up my mind more and helped me out,” Waked said.