When Majde started high school life seemed to be good. “As a child I grew up with a burning curiosity, questioning all my surroundings. I grew up with an everlasting thirst for education.” Now he was entering high school in a strongly academic setting that could challenge him fully. All that changed instantly when Majde’s father passed at the beginning of 9th grade. His carefree life changed instantly, as he took on the financial responsibilities of the family. At the age of fifteen he started working at farmers’ markets around the area four days a week, while keeping up his grades, knowing college was the goal on the distant horizon.

For self-preservation he immersed himself in school activities. His junior year he was elected ASB junior vice president and became committed to two clubs he opened. ‘Children’s Hope’ is dedicated to helping children with cancer and the ‘Middle Eastern Student Association’, is dedicated to helping families in the Middle East affected by war. If this were not enough volunteer, altruistic endeavors, at the start of Majde’s senior year he decided to start ‘Helping Hands’ dedicated to helping families at Granada Hills Charter High School who are also struggling financially.

“I never understood how economic instability could literally change a person. You no longer thought about how to do your statistics homework, but literally are consumed by the thought of how do I get enough money to pay the water and power bill.”

Majde will be starting at the University of California, Irvine this fall majoring in political science. There is not a doubt that he will be successful, as he finds his own way to make a difference and place his mark on society. The L.I.F.T. Scholarship gives Majde the “financial freedom” to pursue his dreams and “a mentor through the college experience… so for the first time in years there is someone to motivate me to put my greatest effort into every project and be a role model for me to look to if I need support.”