In the chaotic, ever changing world we live in, meeting sincerely passionate people is an exponentially hard task. This is not the case for anyone who has met senior Ali Ahmad.

No matter what he does, Ahmad makes sure he gives one hundred percent. One of his greatest achievements is being accepted into the prestigious National Art Honors Society. Ahmad says he finds expressing himself incredibly important — whether it is through art or simply speaking to others. His strong-willed and opinionated personality is balanced by his calm and collected demeanor, as well as his articulate voice.

Ahmad’s achievements speak for themselves — his commitment to multiple extracurricular activities, while maintaining a high GPA, confirms his strong work ethic and academic persistence. Ahmad’s favorite part about Niles West is the amount of opportunities every student is offered, no matter what his or her interests are.

“There is a club here for everyone,” Ahmad said.

Because Ahmad is humble about his accomplishments, he finds more value in serving others than himself. He is a peer leader, Literacy Center tutor, and homeroom mentor — all of which he claims fulfill him as a person. His need to give back to the school is only a testament to his virtuous character, as well as his determination to challenge himself.

“Coming into high school, I knew I wanted to challenge myself and juggle my time by taking hard classes and being involved in extra curricular activities. My goal is to break my limits and unlock my potential. I want to know what I can and can’t do,” Ahmad said.

Described by friends as selfless, kind, and motivating, Ahmad lives to help others. Grateful for all the support he has given her, senior Sarah Gawo could not imagine succeeding in National Art Honors Society without him.

“We joined NAHS together and I always partnered with him during the fundraising activities because he keeps me on my feet and he knows what he’s doing,” Gawo said. “He has given me countless rides to make the meetings in the mornings and I can never repay him for that. Ali is going to be so successful when he grows up. He’s one of the smartest kids I know.”

His knowledge is applicable to the real world and the classroom as well. His teachers describe him as a serious, meticulous, and conscientious student who is always willing to help his peers.

“There can be a font called Ali Ahmad — his perfect handwriting reveals a lot about his careful and precise character,” his junior English teacher Michele Lewis said.

A deep thinker and outspoken supporter of Bashar Al-Assad, Ahmad used his platform on the speech team to inform his peers about the Syrian crisis.

“The media distorts almost everything about what is truly going on over there. Being a native of Syria, I try my best to tell people the truth,” Ahmad said.

His vision for the future includes becoming a doctor. Ahmad will be applying to Northwestern and UIC, as he plans on majoring in biology before moving on to medicine. However, he refuses to look into the future without keeping those who came before him in mind. The one person he looks up to most is his father.

“I have my father to thank for who I am becoming. He worked blue collar jobs for as long as 19 hours a day when he came to the United States, and his motivation was to start a family of his own. Now that he’s a prosperous real estate agent, I see how important hard work is and how much potential it has,” Ahmad said.