Ahmed

Hello. My name is Ahmed. I am 15 years old, and I am a freshman who goes to The Preuss School UCSD. I live with my mom, dad, and 4 other siblings. I am the oldest of all 4 of my siblings. My hobbies include playing basketball and football, and cooking during my free time, like on weekends. My dad came to the U.S. through a difficult process. He had to wait for a visa for over a decade just to get one and fly to the U.S. He had to leave most of his family back in Ethiopia since their visas still haven’t been accepted to this day. My dad was 28 years old when he got to the U.S in 2008. My uncle, who has been in the U.S. since 2001, has learned to speak English and drive a car instead of using public transportation. My uncle taught my dad everything there is to know about driving and learning English. My uncle got to the United States by winning the DV lottery in 2001 to get to the United States. After my dad settled in San Diego for a while, his sister got a visa, and she also came to the United States to live a better life with my dad and uncle. My mom got to the United States with the help of her two brothers, who got into a good college in Russia from Ethiopia. My uncle from my mom’s side graduated in 1997. He first brought his mother and father, then he brought all of his siblings in 2001 to settle in San Jose. By 2009, my dad went up north to San Jose and met my mom there. Both my parents decided to move to San Diego and build a life there for my siblings and me.

My dad started as a taxi driver for the San Diego International Airport to transport others from the airport to their designated destinations. My mom worked as a caregiver before I was born. When I was born, my mom quit her job to take care of me full-time, while my dad still continues to work hard as a taxi driver. When my sister was born, we had to move out of our one-bedroom apartment into a two-bedroom apartment. In April 2016, my parents decided to move into a cheaper apartment since the monthly rent was getting higher, and my dad’s income couldn't handle paying expensive rent anymore. When I was in third grade, I went to basketball practice on Monday and Wednesday after school until the Covid 19 pandemic. Since the Covid 19 pandemic began, they canceled all the practices and games. After this pandemic, my mom had to work again since money was tight, and my dad had no income during most of the pandemic. My mom decided to work closer to home and work in a school cafeteria. My dad still kept his job as a taxi driver, but recently, business has gotten really bad, and he decided to switch his job to a full-time truck driver. I applied to attend the Preuss School UCSD. I am grateful to have been accepted and to have attended this amazing school. I love The Preuss School UCSD because the teachers and staff there are great, and I am doing really well with having A’s and one or two classes with B’s.

When I was young, I told my kindergarten teacher that I either wanted to be a police officer or firefighter, but then in 5th grade, I decided that those professions didn’t stand out to me. By the time I was in fifth grade, I wanted to become a mechanical engineer. I wanted to become a mechanical engineer since I am very good at math and took advanced math in 5th grade, and I also skipped a math level at Preuss. I am also interested in working with machines and systems. To become an excellent mechanical engineer, I would first have to learn Chemistry and Physics, which I will in 10th and 11th grade. Then, after senior year, I would have to go to a great college that will pursue my dream of being a mechanical engineer. The colleges that I want to go to are either UCLA, UC Berkeley, Stanford, or Caltech. I would really want to go to any of these schools to become a successful mechanical engineer in the future. Even if I don’t get into any of these four colleges, there are other good colleges to go to that are great for mechanical engineering. I wanna be a successful mechanical engineer in the future for my parents, so I can support and take care of them when they are old, instead of dropping them off at a nursing home. I also will not waste this opportunity since they have made many sacrifices to get to the United States and work every day as hard as they can.

I am super grateful that A Bridge for Kids is giving me an awesome opportunity that can help me out with my academics and sports. If I get sponsored, I would use the money to buy a laptop so I can take it anywhere I want and still be able to do my schoolwork. I would also buy a desk with a night light, so if I ever have extra assignments, I can stay up doing the assignments every night. I would also buy new basketball and football equipment like basketball shoes, basketball shorts, basketballs, cleats, and footballs. If I have extra money left over, I would buy school supplies and books that are about mechanical engineering to study more about my future major. When I become successful in the future, I would like to give back to A Bridge for Kids for this amazing opportunity that they gave me. I would like to thank A Bridge for Kids for giving me a chance. Thank you for taking the time out of your day and for your consideration to read my personal statement, and for giving me a chance at this sponsorship.