..MAY-JUNE 2008

Alumni Spotlight: Jana Malhas

Jana When Jana Malhas was in middle school she fell in love with San Diego after visiting from Amman, Jordan, where she was born and raised. She decided to attend SDSU because of the excellent reputation of its business program in the United States. “It is customary in our family that one goes abroad for college to experience life independently and return after gaining the experience and personality development,” she said.

While at SDSU, she was involved with the International Student Center by organizing and preparing events that focused on enlightening students’ perspective of the world’s diverse cultures, values, and traditions. One project she worked on established and operated a virtual company where she applied academic knowledge to issues faced in the real corporate world. During the project, she had the opportunity to meet some of the top business leaders from Europe and the United States. “The project helped me to improve my leadership skills, teamwork and sense of responsibility,” she remembered.

Jana graduated from SDSU in 2004 with a B.S. in Information and Decision Systems, Summa Cum Laude (3.95 GPA). “This special day gave me a great sense of accomplishment,” she said.”All the hard work had paid off. I felt so confident and proud of myself and I shared it with my family, friends, and professors.”

After graduating she moved to Montreal, Canada to learn French because she wanted to add another language to her English and Arabic background. Four months after moving to Canada, she packed up and headed to the diverse city of Dubai, UAE, the world’s newest business hub.

Malhas was employed by Le Reve, the most luxurious housing development in Dubai. Le Reve is an automated residential quarters designed by world renowned architects and designers. Soon after she was promoted to the position of IT Project Manager (Home Automation and Entertainment Specialist), she began traveling throughout Europe and the Middle East to demonstrate the company’s unique project and to learn new technologies through seminars and exhibitions.

In recent years, Dubai’s economy has been booming and the city has created great business opportunities to visionary individuals. She found a good market to apply the knowledge and experience she had gained from SDSU to an interesting city that welcomes new ideas and opens paths to new innovations.

In January 2007, she and a notable businessman started a company called Ultimate Solutions LLC specializing in home automation and entertainment solutions in Dubai. “I realized that being a successful young woman in a male dominated profession gave me a competitive advantage,” she said. “Customers appreciated and enjoyed dealing with someone who is professional, easy to communicate with, detail oriented, and delivers what is promised.”

Today, Jana volunteers to raise funds and facilities for various projects such as Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan, promoting education among Iraqi children, and providing medical treatment of children who are injured in war.