Martial arts transformed my perspective on what I could achieve in school and in life. Since 2009 I have trained in wrestling, judo, and BJJ. I have also completed seminars in taekwondo, systema, and boxing. In 2021 I was awarded a black belt in judo and Katamedo Jujitsu by United States Martial Arts Association. I have won over nine state and national championships in judo. Presently, I am a member of the University of Chicago NCAA Division III wrestling team. I was a B/B+ student before I began my journey in martial arts. I did not push myself to perform in school. Goal setting was not a priority. Judo more than any martial art I have trained opened my mind to the possibility of pursuing mastery of technique and overcoming fear. This journey has led me to better understand myself and my limits. Fear of failure remains a growth opportunity for me. The belt system of judo triggered my passion for goal setting. Within three year of training Judo my grades in school improved significantly. From 7th grade to my freshman year of college I have maintained a 3.9 GPA out of 4.0. Martial arts created an expectation of excellence in everything I pursue. I will be a practicing student of martial arts my entire life. I will strive to give back to the martial arts as much as it has given to me.

Hello, My name is Manareldeen Fajors. I am 17 years old, I live in St. Louis, Missouri with my parents, my two sisters, and my cat. My hobbies include history, archery, wresting, trumpet, video games, and Judo. I have been studying Judo since I was 8 years old. I have competed in countless tournaments across the United States This summer I earned my brown belt in both judo and jujitsu. From my earliest days, Judo provided me with focus and discipline. Judo is unique among the combat sports in that it practically combines structure, respect, technique, and fun. Most importantly, as a pre-teen Judo gave me an inner confidence that also directly improved my academic performance. I won on the judo mat and I started to win academically and challenge myself each year to accomplish more. Judo will remain a good friend and partner my entire life. The academic areas of history and global affairs have been my intellectual passion for many years. In the seventh grade, my history teacher was passionate about the subject. He introduced history in an exciting manner and motivated me to delve deeper into historical study. As I studied more history, I started to connect the various events and people I learned about to create a broader understanding of the world. I believe history is very important in shaping present day public policy. As we look back at leaders from FDR to Menelik II we can see how their polices affected not only the trajectory of their country but the lives of millions of their people. There is power in public policy and by looking back at history we can have a clear roadmap of what polices worked and which ones did not. Through my work with history and public policy, whether that be in education or government, I hope to help the less fortunate. I know there are millions of people out there, especially children, that are suffering, living every day in fear at no fault of their own. I was born in a fortunate position with loving parents who invested in my education and put me on the path of success. I would die a happy man if I could lift people up and help them realize their full potential. The hardest part of being a student is the feeling that what you are doing is not going to benefit you later in life and that the hard work and sacrifice is for nothing. At times, I have felt taking classes that do not relate to my desired career path are distractions and even a waste of my time. During my sophomore year I jumped a math level for a greater challenge. I wanted to take Math Analysis the following year. It is the hardest math class in my high school. To keep up in Math Analysis I studied countless hours trying to understand the material. Every couple of weeks I would throw up my arms and be ready to give up, asking myself why am I doing all this work. I am not going to be a math major in college. What is the point? Yet, I always reminded myself why I was taking the class. It was about challenging myself, especially in a subject that was not my passion. Learning is not about protecting a high school GPA. My grades in Math Analysis were B and B+, which dropped my GPA to 3.91. I would have loved to maintain a 4.0, but what is the benefit of the easier road?

Hello, My name is Manareldeen Fajors. I am 17 years old, I live in St. Louis Missouri with my parents, my two sisters, and my cat. My hobbies include history, archery, wresting, trumpet, video games, and judo. I have been studying Judo since I was 8 years old. I started at Palo Alto Judo Club. I have competed in countless tournaments across the United States. I am an eight-time state champion in Illinois, Wisconsin, Kansas, Michigan, and Ohio, as well as an AAU national champion and a two-time America's Cup champion. This summer I earned my brown belt in both judo and jujitsu. From my earliest days, Judo provided me with focus and discipline. Judo is unique among the combat sports in that it practically combines structure, respect, technique, and fun. Most importantly, as a pre-teen Judo gave me an inner confidence that also directly improved my academic performance. I won on the judo mat and I started to win academically and challenge myself each year to accomplish more. Judo will remain a good friend and partner my entire life. The academic areas of history and global affairs have been my intellectual focus for many years. In the seventh grade, my history teacher was passionate about the subject. He introduced history in an exciting manner. I came to see history as a series of interesting stories with exciting twists and turns and heart-wrenching plots. As time went on, I started studying history in my free time with books and YouTube videos. I learned about the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, the unification of Germany, and the founding of the Soviet Union. As I studied more history, I started to connect the various events and people I learned about to create a broader understanding of the world. In high school I participated in history bowl, a history knowledge quiz competition. I was a member of our national history bowl team that placed 27th out of 96 teams at the national competition. In my junior year, I restarted the history club. I created a club website laduehistory.club, where I post articles, videos, and book reviews. This year I created a virtual lecture series for the club. Our first virtual lecturer was Professor Zhao Ma of Washington University of Saint Louis. He discussed the Chinese Cultural Revolution. I will continue to expand my understanding of history and global affairs in college. I believe history is very important in shaping present day public policy. As we look back at leaders from FDR to Menelik II we can see how their polices affected not only the trajectory of their country but the lives of millions of their people. There is power in public policy and by looking back at history we can have a clear roadmap of what polices worked and which ones did not. I believe it is my duty to help the less fortunate. I know there are millions of people out there especially children that are suffering, living every day in fear at no fault of their own. I was born in a fortunate position with loving parents who invested in my education and put me on the path of success. I would die a happy man if I could lift people up and help them realize their full potential.

Hello, My name is Manareldeen Fajors. I am 17 years old, I live in St. Louis Missouri with my parents, my two sisters, and my cat. My hobbies include history, archery, wresting, trumpet, video games, and judo. I have been studying Judo since I was 8 years old. I started at Palo Alto Judo Club. I have competed in countless tournaments across the United States. I am an eight-time state champion in Illinois, Wisconsin, Kansas, Michigan, and Ohio, as well as an AAU national champion and a two-time America's Cup champion. This summer I earned my brown belt in both judo and jujitsu. From my earliest days, Judo provided me with focus and discipline. Judo is unique among the combat sports in that it practically combines structure, respect, technique, and fun. Most importantly, as a pre-teen Judo gave me an inner confidence that also directly improved my academic performance. I won on the judo mat and I started to win academically and challenge myself each year to accomplish more. Judo will remain a good friend and partner my entire life. The academic areas of history and global affairs have been my intellectual focus for many years. In the seventh grade, my history teacher was passionate about the subject. He introduced history in an exciting manner. I came to see history as a series of interesting stories with exciting twists and turns and heart-wrenching plots. As time went on, I started studying history in my free time with books and YouTube videos. I learned about the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, the unification of Germany, and the founding of the Soviet Union. As I studied more history, I started to connect the various events and people I learned about to create a broader understanding of the world. In high school I participated in history bowl, a history knowledge quiz competition. I was a member of our national history bowl team that placed 27th out of 96 teams at the national competition. In my junior year, I restarted the history club. I created a club website laduehistory.club, where I post articles, videos, and book reviews. This year I created a virtual lecture series for the club. Our first virtual lecturer was Professor Zhao Ma of Washington University of Saint Louis. He discussed the Chinese Cultural Revolution. I will continue to expand my understanding of history and global affairs in college. I believe history is very important in shaping present day public policy. As we look back at leaders from FDR to Menelik II we can see how their polices affected not only the trajectory of their country but the lives of millions of their people. There is power in public policy and by looking back at history we can have a clear roadmap of what polices worked and which ones did not. I believe it is my duty to help the less fortunate. I know there are millions of people out there especially children that are suffering, living every day in fear at no fault of their own. I was born in a fortunate position with loving parents who invested in my education and put me on the path of success. I would die a happy man if I could lift people up and help them realize their full potential.