As-Salam-o-Alaikum, my name is Taha Ali. I'm currently a freshman at Rutgers University-New Brunswick, and my dream is to become a dentist with a major in Public Health and a minor in Biology. I enjoy going out and spending time with my friends and family in my free time. My family is filled with kind and supportive individuals. Growing up in a low-income household has its difficulties and winning this scholarship will allow me to lessen them a little. Even with these financial burdens my parents always did what was best for their children. They always showed us the value of education and Islam. When I was younger, my parents would take my siblings and I to Kumon to improve our schooling and succeed later on in life. In addition to education, my parents would teach us the value of the Quran, and my dad would teach us how to recite nohas and qasidas. Every Saturday as a child, I would go to Astaana School and learn new things about Islam that I never knew beforehand. After graduating, I volunteered and helped teach the students. I began teaching the second grade with Ferheen Bhaji and had an excellent time. I taught some students how to read the Quran during one period, and in the other, I would help teach deeniyat with the other teacher. Volunteering at Astaana School enabled me to become a better leader and more adaptive in situations. Working with children allowed me to become a kind and compassionate leader by understanding my students and allowing them to feel welcome in a classroom. Earning their respect was challenging initially, but they realized I was a friend to them over time. I truly believed that I positively impacted their lives by volunteering in this school. By teaching them the difference between halal and haraam, I believe this positively impacted their lives resulting in them doing even more good in the world as they grow up. My volunteering experience at the dentist's office solidified my career. Ever since I was a child, I also knew I wanted to become a dentist, but I never had the opportunity to shadow the doctor. Shadowing a dentist brightened my day and always left me with a smile. While volunteering at the office, I saw different procedures and individuals with different backgrounds. Talking to the patients would usually comfort them as a procedure was occurring. One experience that had positively impacted the world was when a patient came into the office for an extraction. This patient was frightened with the idea of getting their teeth pulled out, but I was in the room with them and tried talking and comforting them in any way possible. After the extraction was completed, the patient thanked me for relaxing them when they were in pain. After this incident, I was delighted to have positively impacted someone. Although this experience impacts one individual, it impacts the world because each individual matters. If I show compassion to one individual, the following individual would also try to be compassionate to another person and so on. The skills I have learned throughout my life and by volunteering will continue the legacy of treating everyone with compassion and positively impacting their lives. From my volunteering experience, I learned how to become a better leader and understand others from different backgrounds. These qualities are essential in opening my own dental office one day, because I would need leadership skills to have a good team and also the ability to understand the different circumstances of all my patients.