I love academia! I’ve always excelled in it throughout my life. I’m proud to have always been part of the top 5% in Academics. From my early school years up to graduating my MBA and beyond.
Elementary & Middle School
I was the top of my class right from grade 1 of Elementary School. This continued throughout the years of Elementary, Middle, and High School. I was very competitive in class. I’d be vigorous when I had a contender competing with me for the first rank on the class, and I’d always make him lose.
Grade 7 in Persian
One of my proud Academic achievements is passing grade 7 in a completely new language to me. I’ve been studying in Kuwait schools in Arabic language all my life, and because of the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, we were displaced to Iran so I had to go to an Iranian school in Persian language. Just weeks before schools started, my dad got me a private tutor to teach me the basics of Persian language using a grade 1 book. The famous phrase of the 1st grade book “baba ab dad, Mama nan dad.” (dad gave me water, mom gave me bread) is still ringing in my ears. I struggled big time at the beginning of the school year. I worked hard to learn the language and pushed through, finishing strong as the top of the class by the year end.
I’ve shared this story in details in Growing up page (in Displaced by war section), so you can refer to it there. Below I’m sharing my school certificate of grade 7 that I acquired in Iran (with the Arabic translation beneath it). As you can see my grades in the 1st trimester, I was mostly weak in subjects delivered in Persian language, then I got better grades in the 2nd trimester I got my best grades in the 3rd trimester. All grades in Iranian schools are out of 20 marks.
High School
After returning to Kuwait post liberation on 1991, I’ve returned to my school (Al-Najat Private School) completing grade 8 all the way to grade 12. I’ve graduated high school in Science major with 98.2%. In the state of Kuwait at that year (1996), there was over 14’000 students in high school, of which I ranked as 35th (top 1%).
Higher Education
I completed my Computer Science Diploma in New Horizons with honors (GPA of 4.0.)
How on earth have I ended up studying a “diploma” instead of going to medical school is another interesting story that you can find in Major decisions page.
Soon after, I completed my Bachelor of Science with honors in Business Information Systems from Pierce College (Philadelphia, PA). I graduated with a GPA of 4.0 and got placed on the President’s list for outstanding academic performance.
TOFEL Test
In TOFEL, I scored 257 out of 300.
In reference, a score of 190 is the minimum for admission to Bachelor’s degree and 230 for Master’s degree.
GMAT Test
As part of the requirements for MBA admission, I had to take the GMAT test.
I scored 650 out of 800. That score was top 16 percentile globally. The minimum for admission in highly-ranked universities was in the range of 550-600.
Master’s Degree
With my academic record, I had the ability to be admitted almost anywhere I wished. I made it a point to go to a school offering a challenging program. Pennsylvania State University, had a great MBA program ranking the 13th in the World. The theme of the program was Strategic Management, which is exactly what I was looking for. I applied, got admitted, and it was a great pick.
I’ve proudly graduated with a GPA of 3.35. All my grades in the 19 courses of the MBA program were A’s and B’s, nothing below. It was challenging and rewarding to complete this MBA program, it helped tremendously in career and personal growth.
2nd Master’s Degree (in-progress)
M.Ed. in Curriculum and Pedagogy in University of Toronto.
International Certifications
I have taken numerous international exams, 35 exams until now to be specific, most of them in information technology early in my career. I’ve passed international exams of Microsoft, Oracle, Novell, and CompTIA. Never ever have I failed a test, all exams aced from the first attempt.
I’ve also passed the international exam of SHRM-SCP administered by SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management), and two exams of CPTD (formerly CPLP) administered by ATD (Association for Talent Development).
