MS Marketing Student Spotlight: Ahmad Alhusaini

Ahmad Alhusaini is a current MS Marketing student. The international student, originally from Kuwait, explains why he chose the MS Marketing program, what he likes about UF and his start-up clothing brand that bridges American culture and design with Arabic culture and design. 

Q: Tell us about yourself.

Alhusaini: “I am Ahmad Alhusaini, an international student from Kuwait. I am pursuing my MS Marketing degree at the Warrington College of Business. My undergraduate degree is in accounting from Penn State University. I have many hobbies from photography, graphic design, soccer, hiking and driving. But my recent hobby obsession is film photography and Arabic calligraphy and typography.”

Q: Why did you decide to come to the University of Florida? What is the best thing about being at UF/Gainesville?

Alhusaini: “I decided to come to UF because of its great program. I looked at different MS Marketing programs across the globe, and I thought that UF’s program was the best fit for me. The best thing about UF is the atmosphere and the passion for UF is unmatchable; it’s so strong. I saw different college campuses across the U.S., but UF is different you can feel the energy everywhere across Gainesville. You even get to see the university spirit of UF and UF branded business across Florida. Which I personally did not find in any other college town, especially big franchises like Papa John’s laying out the Gator mascot.

Q: What was the most difficult process/thing in getting to where you are today?

Alhusaini: “The most difficult thing I would say is time management and stress management. We live in a very high-paced world, where there is a lot of goals that need to be achieved. Which causes a lot of stress, which causes the problem of stress management. Getting ahold of these two important skills is the most difficult thing in my opinion.”

Q: Tell us about your home country. 

Alhusaini: “Kuwait is a very small country in the Middle East, but it is very Westernized and modern. It’s also a wealthy state with the main export of oil. Kuwait contains only one city and a very small population of Kuwaitis. It’s a very tight-knit community in Kuwait, so most people know each other through a friend or relative or third cousin. It’s also the home of the highest value currency in the world and the hottest place on earth.”

Q: What do you miss the most about your home country?

Alhusaini: “The food, the culture, my family, my friends – just everything about is different. Whenever you move to live somewhere abroad it’s a completely different experience. But moving to a different country is even a bigger change, especially when you live in a tight-knit society.”

Q: What other languages do you speak? What other countries have you been to?

Alhusaini: “In Kuwait, our first language is Arabic, so I know both Arabic and English. I have traveled to a lot of countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain. I have also traveled to Australia, Egypt, Malaysia, Norway, Spain, France, the UK, Germany, Austria, Italy and Netherlands. But all those trips were for leisure with my family, so I haven’t really experienced them like my experience in the U.S.”

Q: Tell us something really cool about yourself.

Alhusaini: “I am the Co-founder and Business Operations Director of 3TONE, a clothing brand that we created in Kuwait. For me, 3TONE is one of my proudest achievements. We created the brand to bridge American culture and design with Arabic culture and design. It is super exciting working and launching 3TONE as you get to create unique ideas from scratch. Through that, I learned to appreciate the tiny details of life and it gave me a different approach to life. Without 3TONE, I probably wouldn’t be here today studying MS Marketing at UF. It showed me the beauty of marketing and pushed me to join UF.”