Golden Key Spotlight: Mohammed Abu-Dalhoum

Every day we make a million decisions: to have cereal or a muffin, to take a right instead of a left, but some decisions have more weight and impact on our lives than others. Golden Key member Mohammed Abu-Dalhoum is a firm believer that our choices significantly affect our lives. 

“I always think that wherever we are in our lives, our decisions have an impact on that,” Mohammed reveals. “I believe I owe a lot of where I am now to my decision to enroll in King’s Academy, Jordan’s best high school. I actually had to repeat 9th Grade to be admitted, but that was the best decision in my life. It is where I learned English; it is where I received incredible education, where I met great peers, and it is the reason I was able to move to the United States and get my BA and MA at great universities.”

Mohammed earned his bachelor’s in International Studies and his Master’s in Conflict and Conflict Resolution from George Washington University. He has been a member of Golden Key since 2019.

“I have been very fortunate to be a member of Golden Key,” Mohammed says. “I have learned a lot from the stories I have read online. Golden Key has countless tremendous members who have all achieved great successes in their lives, and it is always great to read their stories, follow their updates, and learn from their experiences.” 

“I especially appreciate how diverse and globalized it is so that we get to see updates from all around the world, in many different fields, at different stages in their careers.”

During Mohammed’s first year of college, he lost his father. Four years after his father’s passing, he lost his older brother, who was one of his strongest supporters in life. 

“Dealing with these two instances changed me forever, especially my brother’s passing,” Mohammed mentions. “He worked in foreign service, which was actually my dream career, and after that, I changed my mind about the whole career. It turned me away from it. I also think that since that, I have changed my work style. It pushed me further to start MENAACTION and push on every task within it. We really never know how much time we have, so now I take my life with an approach of ‘now or never.”

After completing his studies, Mohammed and a group of friends created MENAACTION, a nonprofit that advocates for Middle Eastern youth rights, by focusing on policy, advocacy, democracy and human rights.

“I started seeing trends specific to youth,” Mohammed explains. “They generally vote at higher rates than the national average. When they engage in protests or demonstrations (such as during the Arab Spring and beyond), they tend to call for reforms that are important and relevant to the grander society, not exclusive to their own needs. It really shows that they are really the candidates we want to represent us in decision-making.”