Living an Impact-Focused Life
What’s your Why?
I believe I was put on this earth to:
To create a change. I don’t want people to acknowledge that I existed at some point, rather I want the to remember what I did for them. I want to live a life serving people and making their lives easier.
My purpose is to:
My purpose is always to leave a mark on people and make sure
I believe (my core values):
Find the good in all people. Love your enemies. Put yourself last.
The one thing I must do before I die is:
Travel to many places.
My advocates and supporters all believe I:
I am disciplined and stubborn.
The evil I want to eradicate in this world is:
Illiteracy and propaganda.
I want to work to:
Leave an impact on the world and have an effect on my family, friends, and people around me. Help as much people as I can.
Walk the Talk – Your How
If you are truly committed to your Why, you show it in your everyday behavior. It is all air until you do it. Working from your Why, How do you prove that you are true to your Why in all you do?
I always:
Try to be genuine about everything and get rid of bias that can affect my judgements. A lot of my ethics and morals I are not well perceived (at all) among my local communities, but I never shy from a debate or sometimes even a shouting match.
I never:
Make decisions to please a group of people, rather I try my best to do what’s right.
My work style is:
Try and start early. Plan everything. Work on it. Get it done.
I try to treat people:
Fairly and equally, regardless of gender, color, race, religion, and ethnicity.
I approach problems by:
Making sure I know the facts from the opinions. Making sure I am in a calm state of mind (not angry or effected by a recent event). Making sure I have a second pair of eyes to look at the issue, in case there’s something I don’t see. Move on to outline steps to solve the issue, and then follow them.
Victories are time to:
Reflect and move on to accomplish more.
If another attacks my point of view I:
Calmly explain my points, and clearly debunk his claims.
If I fundamentally do not agree with what an organization or person is doing, I will:
I don’t believe in the contemporary understanding of leaving everyone alone without opinions being voiced clearly. I will express my view and why I hold it, then leave him to what that person sees fit. I will not involve myself with something I do not agree with. However, I shall treat everyone with grace and compassion.
Your Credibility – Your Whats
You have just spent some considerable time at Lehigh, and specifically in the Global Social Impact Fellowship, on many whats. Your whats include lab research, formal presentations, writing research papers, engaging with people in other cultural contexts, building prototypes, designing and building systems, raising funds, hiring employees, etc. The whats you have collected along the way are critical to your credibility when you are entering the workforce or applying to the best graduate and professional schools. They signify a credible currency to which organizations can assign value. Create a list of your Whats that are truly reflective of your Why & How. You did these things because you believe (Why) and you acquired them in the following (How) manner. These are examples you can use in interviews.
| What Have I Done | List of Experiences, Accomplishments, and Lessons Learned |
| Degrees, Minors, Certificates, Fellowships |
Major in Computer Engineering, Minor in Economics, and part of the GSIF. |
| Research Experiences
|
I helped with some machine learning research with professor Parv (ECE department) during winter break and some of the spring semester. I have been part of the GSIF for one year (2020). I plan on doing computer architecture related research with professor Wujie Wen during the 2021 spring semester.
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| Inventions and Innovations
|
Cheap Braille Arduino Printer SaveTuba App |
| (Social) Entrepreneurial Ventures
|
Save Tuba: A venture that gamifies recycling for school children in Kazakhstan.
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| Publications
(Formal and Informal)
|
One publication in IEEE GHTC conference: Smart City Innovations to Improve Quality of Life in Urban Settings.
Engineering for change article. 2 planned publications.
|
| Formal Presentations
(at Lehigh and Beyond)
|
Spring 2020 Save Tuba midsemester presentation.
Fall 2020 Save Tuba final presentation. |
| Awards and
External Recognition
|
Dean’s List
|
Articulating and learning from GSIF-related Experiences. For each of these prompts, we want you to identify one and only one specific and compelling event/incident/experience/moment and identify exactly how you grew personally and professionally through that moment.
| Teamwork Experience
(and Lessons Learned)
|
Understand that everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Also respect the fact that not all of us are able to dedicate the same amount of time for the project
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| Conflict Resolution Experience
(and Lessons Learned) |
Being part of Lehigh University Multifaith Initiative. I have seen how to resolve conflict due to growing tensions of two religious groups.
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| Leadership Experience
(and Lessons Learned)
|
Various but nothing specific. Make sure you listen to everyone around you and value each team member. |
| Dealing with Chaos, Ambiguity, and Uncertainty (and Lessons Learned) |
Covid has made me plan out several possibilities and prepare for each one. Generally, work with what you have and make sure you’re ready for the possibilities that may come.
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| Personally Challenging Experience (and Lessons Learned)
|
Leaving Egypt (home) to study in the US. Had to get used to a different environment very quickly. Experienced being completely on my own for the first time. |
| Cross-cultural Experience (and Lessons Learned)
|
Coming to the US and connecting with a lot of people from different cultures. It can be surprising how similar some cultures can be!
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| An experience that helped you connect your GSIF work to your discipline / major.
|
Computer Engineering requires discipline, good time management, and good source control skills (keeping track of changes and work being done).Whether it’s having multiple versions of a paper or having to organize time carefully, I have been able to improve these three skills in my time at GSIF. |
| A moment that boosted your sense of agency and self-efficacy – you felt like you can speak for yourself, get stuff done, take on the world and make it better.
|
In high school, I got was in a startup competition. It was during that time that I realized how it is possible to leave an impact on the world. Whether it was pitching the product, discussing business models, or figuring out the technicalities, all helped boost my sense of agency and the need to getting stuff done. |
| A moment where you felt like you truly have a strong sense of purpose and belonging in this dynamic, globalized interdependent world.
|
I used to visit the sick and elderly with my church and to see them looking forward each week for our 30 minute visit, was probably the first I saw how I can really impact someone’s emotional state and how I belonged to this church’s community. |