Alkhalaf is Sterling High School Student of the Month

STERLING – Yamaan Alkhalaf, a senior, is a February Student of the Month at Sterling High School. He is the son of Abdulhamid Alkhalaf and Hafsa Bek and has a brother, Jubraan, and a sister, Fareeda.

What class do you find really engaging and why?: There have been many classes I have found engaging. To name a few: internship, AP calculus, AP psychology, Spanish and anatomy. However, my most memorable class was my fourth-hour AP language and composition class, taught by Jennifer Drew my junior year. She really pushed us to our limits and made us think about texts in different ways. Furthermore, the people in the class made it more memorable as we all got along with each other and had fun, yet were able to learn and get our work done quite easily.

What are your career and post-graduation plans? What school(s) or other instruction, travel or endeavors do you have planned? I plan to go to college in Chicago at an undecided university. In college, I plan to major in biology and minor in Arabic before hopefully attending medical school and becoming a cardiologist.

What are your two favorite extracurricular, volunteer or community activities you participate in? Both soccer and tennis are activities I have enjoyed since I was young. With both sports, I have grown as a player and made unforgettable lifelong friendships. Simple things such as the bus rides or team dinners will always be memorable. Besides sports, I really enjoy participating in my religious community. In the summer, I go to a Muslim summer camp and always learn a lot. I also frequently go to the mosque and participate in classes. With such an activity I feel like I am able to grow more as a person while also just having fun with other friends in that community.

Please share a moment, group event or activity at school that was meaningful or memorable. One of my favorite memories was at the homecoming assembly my junior year where me and one of my best friends played the tortilla game. The game was meant to be funny and the goal was to see who could hold in their laughter the longest, but me and my friend just kept slapping each other until we were forced to stop. I did not know him much at the time and we were not really friends yet, but I’d say that’s where our friendship started.

What is your hope for the future? I hope to become a successful cardiologist and live in the Chicago suburbs. I also hope to get married and have kids that I can raise with my cultural background.