Saudi Alum Cultivates Connections as Texas Global Mentor

Editor's Note: This story is part of a series amplifying International Education Week (IEW), a nationwide initiative celebrating global education and exchange worldwide. Each year during IEW, Texas Global highlights internationally focused news stories and events held across campus throughout the week.

Leena Alali (BBA ’23) seems comfortable outside her comfort zone. A lover of writing, languages and fitness who lives and works in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, the McCombs School of Business graduate has also found contentment working in supply chain management.  

Alali, who was born in Saudi Arabia, received a scholarship from the petroleum giant Saudi Aramco, enabling her to attend The University of Texas at Austin. While on the Forty Acres, she made the most of her major and other opportunities, networking with the help of McCombs’ vast alumni network and also writing and editing for the Daily Texan student newspaper.  

After graduation, per Alali's scholarship agreement, she returned to Saudi to work in supply chain management for Aramco. And she’s never looked back — except to offer help as a mentor to other Longhorns navigating the spaces she used to occupy. 

International Foundations 

Alali’s binational experience runs deep. Her family left Saudi Arabia when she was 4 or 5 years old, traveling to the United States to seek cancer treatment for her older brother. The family eventually settled in Houston and remained there during her childhood.   

“We were there for most of my life,” said Alali. “That's how I learned to love the English language so much — and why I consider the U.S. one of my homes.”  

The family moved back to Saudi during Alali’s adolescence, and she finished high school there. When it came time to choose a college, she knew she wanted to return to the U.S., ideally to Texas.  

College is especially expensive for an international student, though, and her options remained unclear for a time. She considered several schools in Texas and beyond, also cycling through a variety of potential majors, including international relations, Spanish and political science. 

She also applied for numerous scholarships. Her luck shifted when she received a scholarship from Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil producer and exporter, which enabled her to enroll at UT Austin.  

Collaborating for International Education 

Alali calls Saudi Aramco “the oil company of the world,” acknowledging not only its immense footprint around the globe but also the enormity of programs it offers to support employees, dependents, students and potential employees.  

The vibrant partnership between Saudi Aramco and Texas Global’s International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) unit dates back to 2007, when the program began with a single student. In Fall 2024, after decades of growth, ISSS supported 86 students sponsored by the company.  

“With Aramco’s unwavering support, students can dedicate themselves entirely to their academic journey,” said Angela Branigan, assistant director of ISSS Sponsored and Exchange Programs. “Aramco partners with universities to offer tailored programs to enhance academic experience, provide professional growth opportunities and nurture students' physical and social well-being.”  

Aramco also sponsors English language training at UT for the occasional employee on their way to higher education. They receive help from the University's English Language Center in dissolving language barriers and culture shock, as well as guidance for applying to universities and navigating the U.S. collegiate environment.  

As she approached Aramco’s list of approved majors, Alali knew she was capable of performing technical work, but had no desire to be an engineer. That’s when she spotted supply chain management.  

The McCombs School’s supply chain management major prepares students to execute duties as buyers, materials managers, risk management analysts, logistics planners or staff consultants, directing the delivery of manufactured products and services to customers globally.  

Working as a supply chain analyst for Aramco feels like an enjoyable challenge to Alali, one that serves a worthy purpose, with an irreplaceable value that was highlighted in stark relief during the pandemic.  

“I do love my current career,” Alali said. “I work in procurement, planning and contracting. I help stuff get built: office buildings, schools, sometimes renovations to industrial plants. We're the people processing the paperwork in the back to help build actual buildings. I find that incredible.” 

Exploring Varied Interests  

Growing up in two countries and surrounded by many languages traveling between them, Alali developed an early ability (and need) to communicate. Things opened up for her when she took advantage of an opportunity on campus that lay well outside her major. 

“I already knew I loved English, Arabic and Spanish in particular,” said Alali. “But I never realized I wanted to go into ‘hard news’ writing and serious journalism until I started working at the Texan.” 

In her sophomore year (during COVID), she interviewed for a position at the Daily Texan. Certain that she would be hired as a copy editor because she was “good at following rules,” Alali was surprised to be hired instead as a general news writer.  

Fate couldn’t have chosen a better twist. As she began going out on assignments, Alali realized that even though she was happy with her major, her professors and her grades, she had been looking for a community to tie her more deeply into life at the University. 

“Looking back, it was the best decision I made in my entire time at UT,” Alali said. “I went from sitting in my dorm to walking to a rally at the Capitol because we had to get quotes. I’d never realized that environment and that group of people were so close to me. They were sitting in my classes. They were right there!” 

During subsequent years at the Texan, journalism revealed more to Alali about her community and the world — and herself — than she’d ever imagined.   

“This is a proper investigation of the people around me,” she remembers thinking. “I never knew that I had the resources and the bandwidth to just go up to people and ask questions. It was an amazing start with moments I'll never forget.”  

Networking Skills 

Alali became more comfortable with approaching strangers for information, a skill which proved useful as she accessed the McCombs School’s networking advice and vast alumni database. Business students are encouraged to contact graduates working in their fields; in response, many alumni generously offer their time, perspectives and advice to current Longhorns.  

Alali took advantage of these opportunities, practicing cold-calling alumni in various fields and learning from their experiences. She also attended events designed to connect business students with local, national and global companies. 

“They tell you, ‘Go have cookies and coffee with somebody from Deloitte,’ ” recalled Alali. “The school is always encouraging these interactions. And I know some people find them intimidating at first, but the second you go to one, you realize, ‘I'm just having breakfast tacos with somebody in a suit.’ It's really not as intimidating as you think.”  

These experiences bolstered Alali’s confidence in networking and her understanding of how important professional connections can be. And after graduation, when she assumed her new role in the workplace, she began to understand why those alumni responded with such benevolence. 

“When I graduated, I realized: You feel so proud of the work you've done and the connections you’ve made [during your college career], you just want to give something back,” she said. “I felt that same feeling when I graduated. I want to give something back.”  

Giving Back 

Motivated by her many experiences of alumni generosity, Alali did exactly that: She volunteered as a mentor to help other international students at UT via the newly established Texas Global Mentorship Program.  

Exclusively for UT Austin students and alumni, this program leverages the University’s HookedIn network to connect mentors and mentees among 580,000 alumni living around the globe, thus opening up opportunities for professional growth and interdisciplinary connections. Mentors share insights and guide students through challenges, while mentees gain advice and support to navigate UT Austin and beyond as they embark on international careers.  

“I think the goal is helping other students walk through the same moments that you may have freaked out about when you were at that stage,” said Alali, who also appreciates the fact that, as a former international student, she can offer a lived perspective on legal, travel and immigration issues. 

When she registered for the program, Alali signed up as both a mentor and a mentee. Only three years out of college and into the workforce, she believes she could also benefit from the perspective of an alumni slightly farther along on the career timeline.  

“I'm excited to be a mentor, but also to be a mentee,” said Alali. “I think it's cool that they offer the option for both. No one's ever too young or old to do either.” 

Advice from a Mentor 

As Alali looks back, she expresses gratitude for the leeway she was granted to explore her many interests while remaining focused on her major.  

“I'm very lucky to have the UT community,” said Alali. “UT is not a place where you go into your major, and then you leave, and that's it. There's so much more you can do with yourself. I'm lucky I chose a school that allowed me the opportunity to do that.”  

Her advice to other UT students boils down to this: Study hard, but also explore opportunities outside your major. Keep an eye out for other options, other connections, other avenues that interest you. And don't be surprised if your explorations inform and enhance your outlook and skills; they might even open doors to the next career.  

“Even if you love your major, I encourage everyone to go and do something new outside of it,” said Alali. “Ask yourself, ‘What am I good at, and what can I do outside this thing that I have my head buried in 24/7?’ It could end up actually making you stronger at your job.” 

As an example, Alali noted that everything she’d learned in her journalism career has strengthened her skills at editing and analyzing legal contracts in her current career. 

She concluded, “My biggest piece of advice would be to explore — and surprise yourself.”