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Ayoob Abed

1x

Finalist

General information

Location
El Cajon, CA
Age
24
Gender
Male
Ethnicity
Caucasian

Hobbies & Interests

  • Food and Eating

Reading

  • Historical

I read books multiple times a month.

Bio

My interest in healthcare began when I started taking care of my disabled parents. I have become an untrained physical therapist helping my father with everyday tasks that able-bodied people take for granted. This taught me an empathy that I would not have learned without this experience. Last year I had the opportunity to participate in the “I Inspire” program at Grossmont Hospital. This program was created to educate high school students about the field of nursing. Although my job was to shadow and learn from nurses, I contributed more than that. Because I speak three languages I was called upon to do a medical translation for patients. My favorite experience was helping a patient who had a heart attack. I was allowed to observe the surgery and then translate the doctor’s words about the successful surgery to his wife. I learned how to better communicate with patients of all ages, and I observed the importance of compassionate healthcare and how it felt to truly make a difference. I look at my science classes in a new way now, seeing their importance in giving me a strong foundation of knowledge. In college, I look forward to more classes and experiences teaching me to be the kind of healthcare provider I was able to work with in this life-changing experience. My other interest is in communications. In high school, I found a new way to communicate by taking the Arts Media and Entertainment (AME) class. My teacher recognized my aptitude and I became the official photographer for the summer HOPE Program. This project aimed to help students that were new to the country to develop English skills and learn from project-based lessons. My video helped promote my school and allowed families to see the rapid progress of their children. Students arrived isolated and afraid to communicate; however, because I was able to speak their languages they became more open. I was able to serve as a role model and together we embraced and celebrated their diversity and their dreams. I have a strong interest in medicine and a talent for video communications. I am also trilingual. I envision combining my interest and talent into excellent healthcare for non-English speaking patients. I plan to pursue a public health degree to fulfill my goals after college graduation. Ideally, one day I will be able to open up a non-profit clinic for people who don’t have healthcare.

Education

San Diego State University

Bachelor's degree program

2020 – 2024

Majors:
  • Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
GPA3.2 GPA

El Cajon Valley High

High School

2016 – 2020

GPA3.9 GPA

Miscellaneous

Desired degree level:
Master's degree program
Majors of interest:
Environmental/Environmental Health Engineering
Test scores:
  • SAT1080
  • ACT18

Career

  • Helping out elderly with dressing, bathing, laundry, translation, and medicine

    Provider · In Home Support Service

    Jan 2020 – Present

  • Provider

    In-Home Supportive Services · California Department of Social Services

    Jan 2020 – Present

  • cleaning

    Facilities Services · janitor

    Jan 2010 – Jan 2010

Miscellaneous

Dream career field:
Public Health
Dream career goals:
Open non-profit organization
Has nursing license:
No

Future Interests

  • Advocacy
  • Politics
  • Volunteering
  • Philanthropy
  • Entrepreneurship
Coleman for Patriots Scholarship
Others may dislike my characteristic but the quality of giving without receiving is something amazing. I grew up in a village called Batnaya in Iraq. My parents owned a small store which was our only income. My father wanted me to learn how to exchange money, which was being a cashier. So I learned adding and dividing before entering school. Each time I earned my allowance, my parents encouraged me to help the ones in need so we all donated. Due to Iraq being unsafe, we fled to Lebanon. Because my father is handicapped, my mother and I worked as janitors. At the age of eight, children were expected to be in school, but obstacles were in the way. Every day I would wake up early and walk up and down my street to see if someone needs help. If I ended up helping the rich, I would make some money, and if a poor, I would be doing a good thing. Thankfully there were some opportunities. Halloween was a great time because instead of giving candy, they would be giving money. Many kids would use the money to buy candy, but I saved it. Donations were great in Lebanon, I would be getting gifts and instead of playing with them, I would be selling them to help out my family. Due to money shortage, my family and I would wait in line for the food donations; the way back home was the difficult part because I would have to carry more than my parents. As a man, we were taught to do more and we have to be strong. Fortunately, my family was given asylum to the United States two years later. I entered a fourth-grade class of thirty-two students who were fluent in a language I did not know. Of all the students, I was the only newcomer. I was fluent in Arabic and Chaldean but they’re very different from English. Because of this, I stood isolated. I couldn’t complete assignments or make friends. I was placed into ELD classes. I watched videos at home to improve my English. For assignments, I used Google Translate to type in English, translated to Arabic, then back to English again. This process took five hours per day. I became so good at English that my parents wanted me to translate for them when going to their doctors’ appointments. Today, taking a look back at the challenges I faced, I learned what I want to become, which is a financial advisor. At the Chaldean Community Council(CCC), I am a volunteer and I help out with translation, filling out Welfare, Section 8, Low Income, and FAFSA forms. My boss agreed with me to open a room for people who want to learn how to save and build a future for themselves and their kids. The majority of my work is based on opening a savings account online instead of a bank. My parents were not taught because of health and discrimination toward Christianity in Iraq. I may not have role models who have degrees, but I do have role models with life experience and they are my parents. They taught me that helping is the most important thing to do for the ones who do not have challenges. We may not solve everything but at least we took out one problem to better their day.
Sloane Stephens Doc & Glo Scholarship
Others may dislike my characteristic but the quality of giving without receiving is something amazing. I grew up in a village called Batnaya in Iraq. My parents owned a small store which was our only income. My father wanted me to learn how to exchange money, which was being a cashier. So I learned adding and dividing before entering school. Each time I earned my allowance, my parents encouraged me to help the ones in need so we all donated. Due to Iraq being unsafe, we fled to Lebanon. Because my father is handicapped, my mother and I worked as janitors. At the age of eight, children were expected to be in school, but obstacles were in the way. Every day I would wake up early and walk up and down my street to see if someone needs help. If I ended up helping the rich, I would make some money, and if a poor, I would be doing a good thing. Thankfully there were some opportunities. Halloween was a great time because instead of giving candy, they would be giving money. Many kids would use the money to buy candy, but I saved it. Donations were great in Lebanon, I would be getting gifts and instead of playing with them, I would be selling them to help out my family. Due to money shortage, my family and I would wait in line for the food donations; the way back home was the difficult part because I would have to carry more than my parents. As a man, we were taught to do more and we have to be strong. Fortunately, my family was given asylum to the United States two years later. I entered a fourth-grade class of thirty-two students who were fluent in a language I did not know. Of all the students, I was the only newcomer. I was fluent in Arabic and Chaldean but they’re very different from English. Because of this, I stood isolated. I couldn’t complete assignments or make friends. I was placed into ELD classes. I watched videos at home to improve my English. For assignments, I used Google Translate to type in English, translated to Arabic, then back to English again. This process took five hours per day. I became so good at English that my parents wanted me to translate for them when going to their doctors’ appointments. Today, taking a look back at the challenges I faced, I learned what I want to become, which is a financial advisor. At the Chaldean Community Council(CCC), I am a volunteer and I help out with translation, filling out Welfare, Section 8, Low Income, and FAFSA forms. My boss agreed with me to open a room for people who want to learn how to save and build a future for themselves and their kids. The majority of my work is based on opening a savings account online instead of a bank. My parents were not taught because of health and discrimination toward Christianity in Iraq. I may not have role models who have degrees, but I do have role models with life experience and they are my parents. They taught me that helping is the most important thing to do for the ones who do not have challenges. We may not solve everything but at least we took out one problem to better their day.
I Am Third Scholarship
Growing up in the Middle East, I faced serious problems including poverty, religious discrimination, and physical beatings. We didn’t know where the next meal would come from, and we had to depend on church food donations and the kindness of strangers. As a seven-year-old, I held a full-time job as a janitor. Education would never be an option for me there. Fortunately, my family was given asylum to the United States two years later. On October 18, 2011, I entered a fourth-grade class of thirty-two students who were fluent in a language I did not know. Of all the students, I was the only newcomer. I was fluent in Arabic and Chaldean but they’re very different from English. Because of this, I stood isolated. I couldn’t complete assignments or make friends. What made me more isolated was that I was given detentions for things I did not do simply because I did not understand what was going on. Soon I decided to overcome the challenge and do something about the problem. I went to after-school classes. Instead of being taught at a four-grade level, I was being taught kindergarten and then started to move up. For school, I used Google Translate to type in English, translated to Arabic, then back to English again so I could complete assignments. Although this process took five hours, I knew it would benefit me. Later, when the same group of students wanted to blame me once more for something I did not do, I stood up for myself saying, “Teacher, no me--them problem.” While it’s not proper English, I did not get the blame anymore. When I entered fifth grade, my teacher wanted me to communicate. I was barely pronouncing or remembering the right words to say. However, to get to learn new vocabulary words, I started reading short stories. For each vocab I didn’t know, I would translate, understand the meaning, and learn to pronounce and when to use it. To this day, I am still learning new ones. What got me to focus even more on my English was the encouragement from my 5th-grade teacher. She said in front of the class, “Ayoob wants to become a doctor, but the only way to become one is through hard work. Right “Dr. Abed?” A wonderful feeling happened when she called me a doctor. I started wanting to learn more of the English language to do well in all subjects. I became so good at English that my parents wanted me to translate for them when going to their doctors’ appointments. Besides translation, I went to learn how doctors got to practice medicine. I was inspired by their advice--another incentive for continuing my hard work in school. Reaching high school, I was immediately placed in Honors English. I was surprised, but I gave it a shot. I found out that the vocabulary levels were not high; the class was not difficult at all. My perseverance through education was not only in honors; I started taking Advanced Placement classes: AP Literature and English Language. As a result, I graduated with a rank of 6 out of 372. Today, I am at San Diego State University continuing the dream of being called “Dr. Abed.” I was considered a failure by my peers in elementary, but the challenge encouraged me to work hard to get where I am today. Where my grades were Fs, today they are A’s and B’s. I will continue my hard work until I become an environmental engineer.
Bubba Wallace Live to Be Different Scholarship
On October 18, 2011, I entered a fourth-grade class of thirty-two students who were fluent in a language I did not know. Of all the students, I was the only newcomer. I was fluent in Arabic and Chaldean but they’re very different from English. Because of this, I stood isolated. I couldn’t complete assignments or make friends. What made me more isolated was that I was given detentions for things I did not do simply because I did not understand what was going on. Soon I decided to overcome the challenge and do something about the problem. I went to after school classes. Instead of being taught at a four-grade level, I was being taught kindergarten and then started to move up. At home, I opened up Google Translate to complete my assignments which I translated from English to Arabic then back to English. Although this process took five hours, I knew it would benefit me. Later, when the same group of students wanted to blame me once more for something I did not do, I stood up for myself saying, “Teacher, no me--them problem.” While it’s not proper English, I did not get the blame anymore. When I entered fifth grade, my teacher wanted me to communicate. I was barely pronouncing or remembering the right words to say. However, to get to learn new vocabulary words, I started reading short stories. For each vocab I didn’t know, I would translate, understand the meaning, and learn to pronounce and when to use it. To this day, I am still learning new ones. What got me to focus even more on my English was the encouragement from my 5th-grade teacher. She said in front of the class, “Ayoob wants to become a doctor, but the only way to become one is through hard work. Right “Dr. Abed?” A wonderful feeling happened when she called me a doctor. I started wanting to learn more of the English language to do well in all subjects. I became so good at English that my parents wanted me to translate for them when going to their doctors’ appointments. Besides translation, I went to learn how doctors got to practice medicine. I was inspired by their advice--another incentive for continuing my hard work in school. Reaching high school, I was immediately placed in Honors English. I was surprised, but I gave it a shot. I found out that the vocabulary levels were not high; the class was not difficult at all. My perseverance through education was not only in honors; I started taking Advanced Placement classes: AP Literature and English Language. As a result, I graduated with a rank of 6 out of 372. Today, I am at San Diego State University continuing the dream of being called “Dr. Abed.” I was considered a failure by my peers in elementary, but the challenge encouraged me to work hard to get where I am today. Where my grades were Fs, today they are A’s and B’s.
Ayoob Abed Student Profile | Bold.org