RAS recently had the chance to meet Jaber Almaazmi, the first Emirati to graduate with a degree in music. With the assistance of our kind Art Teacher, Miss Warda Ambreen Sheikh He visited the school to share his story and show students that success doesn’t always follow the same route.
Jaber started off by explaining how he studied violin in college but, over time, found himself more drawn to the guitar, which he now enjoys playing more. For a local Emirati, majoring in music is far from the norm. People around him expected a more traditional path. His dad and other relatives encouraged him to look into a career at ADNOC or something more "stable." But despite all the pressure, he kept going—and credits his mom for that. She was the only one supporting him at the start, and her belief made a huge difference.
He also opened up about how things weren’t always easy. In school, he said he didn’t do particularly well—not because he wasn’t smart, but because traditional school settings didn’t really work for him. Since he said he had a short attention span, he always knew a regular 9–5 or a traditional career path wouldn’t be for him.
Towards the end of the speech, there was a Q&A segment. A student asked what the artist would’ve done if his music dream didn’t work out. His answer was simple:
“Plan B is: don’t mess up Plan A. There was no way music wouldn’t work out.”
His visit was a reminder that you don’t have to follow the usual path to succeed. Sometimes, doing what truly excites you leads to the most meaningful results. He proved that you don’t need to follow society’s script to succeed—you just need to write your own.