When Abdulrahman arrived at KFUPM from Riyadh, he was not only stepping into one of the Kingdom’s most demanding academic environments; he was also deliberately stepping away from familiarity. Living independently mattered to him. It was part of the growth he was seeking, something he knew he would not gain had he chosen a university closer to home. As he puts it, “I knew that KFUPM is different from other universities within the activities that it has and the difficulty of its studies. And I love a challenge.”

That challenge lasted over five and a half years. Abdulrahman graduated in Spring 2026 with a degree in mechanical engineering, following an extended academic timeline influenced by the applied nature of the program and the scale of his involvement beyond the classroom.

His degree required a full-semester internship rather than a summer training. He completed his internship at the Saudi Industrial Development Fund in the Project Studies Department. There, he evaluated production lines and participated in site visits to factories. To manage the academic load, he also enrolled in every available summer semester, carefully distributing laboratory courses so that he would not face two lab-heavy classes at once.

In 2022, Abdulrahman and a team of four students took on an idea that many considered unrealistic: reviving the KFUPM yearbook. The publication had been discontinued for nearly four decades, and there was no recent template to follow. The project became Abdulrahman’s legacy at KFUPM. After the initial revival, he went on to serve as president of the Yearbook Committee for the following graduating class, turning a small initiative into a structured organization.

Under his leadership, the committee was reorganized into specialized teams, including design, photography, sponsorship, and data, bringing the total number of members to around fifty. At the time, the committee operated under the Media Club, but Abdulrahman pushed for a different arrangement. He successfully advocated for the yearbook to become an independent committee, complete with its own budget allocation. The project was supervised by KFUPM President Dr. Mohammed Al-Saghafi, who challenged the team to complete the entire yearbook in just two months. The team took that challenge head on and met the deadline.

Financing was a major issue they faced. Initial funding was provided as a loan to get the project off the ground, with the clear understanding that the money would be repaid. Abdulrahman formed a dedicated sponsorship team tasked with approaching companies and securing support. Their efforts resulted in 325,000 Saudi Riyals in corporate sponsorships, allowing the yearbook to be produced independently, without reliance on university funding, and enabling the loan to be settled.

During the same academic year, Abdulrahman was also serving as president of the Media Club, effectively holding two major leadership roles at once. Balancing those responsibilities alongside a demanding academic schedule added pressure, but it also reflected the way he chose to experience university life: fully, and without narrowing his focus to a single track.

That approach carried into his senior year. Through TEAM Design, a mandatory capstone initiative for all KFUPM seniors, he worked as part of an interdisciplinary team. The team developed a microwave-assisted extraction technology to address heavy crude oil viscosity and natural gas well condensation issues that affect production efficiency. Their invention earned the “Best Entrepreneurial Project” award at the 2025 TEAM Design Expo, an event attended by major industry players from inside and outside the Kingdom.

Even as that work progressed, Abdulrahman took on yet another time-sensitive creative challenge. In just two weeks, while leading the yearbook committee, presiding over the Media Club, and preparing for a TEDx event as part of its organizing committee, he co-created one of the university’s most widely shared graduation films. He developed the concept and script in collaboration with the film’s director, basing the story on real student experiences. His inspiration was his younger brother, who had also graduated from KFUPM, giving the film an emotional anchor that resonated strongly with viewers.

Looking back, Abdulrahman describes himself as someone who grasps concepts quickly and is drawn to complex, real-world problems rather than routine academic exercises. As a recent graduate, his interests are moving toward project management and leadership roles where he can apply his people management skills. He is particularly interested in positions that offer exposure to multiple industries, such as consulting, and remains closely connected to the energy sector, a focus reflected in his senior project. “I really love the concept of how energy moves, how it changes, how it converts from one form into another,” Abdulrahman remarked. His journey at KFUPM reflects a shared drive amongst the students: choosing the more demanding option to achieve the largest growth.