Meet Pearson Prize Fellows' Karim Abouelnaga

The Pearson Prize is a student leadership award that recognizes and provides support to exemplary students who are distinguishing themselves by leading public service efforts in their local communities. This post is part of a series of blog entries highlighting Pearson Prize National Fellows. Recently, we asked Cornell student Karim Abouelnaga, a Pearson Prize National Fellow for 2011, what issues or initiatives he is passionate about and how he has acted on his passion.

Karim, what cause(s) are you passionate about and why? And how have you acted on that passion?

Raised in a household by two very entrepreneurial immigrant parents, the values of hard work and perseverance were instilled in me at a very young age. The goal was that one day my older brother and I would take over the family business, and at times it came at the expense of our education. Unfortunately, when my father passed away and we were forced to close the family business, I quickly realized that I didn’t have anything but education to rely on. Because of the good grades I was able to receive, I became a target for nonprofits who aimed to find high-achieving students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds and provide them with resources and mentorship to help them realize their full potential. 

As a child of nonprofits who has been given countless opportunities through education, I understand the importance of mentorship and the value that an education can provide to someone. Thus, I brought together a group of friends to found and operate Practice Makes Perfect (PMP), Inc. PMP was conceived on the premise that all children – regardless of race or socioeconomic status – have equal potential to compete intellectually in our society. PMP pairs under-achieving fourth graders with high-achieving ninth graders, under the supervision of undergraduate interns, for an intensive seven-week academic enrichment program that provides students with resources and mentorship that are beyond the reach of their inner-city classrooms.

This past summer, PMP operated a successful pilot program in Long Island City, Queens, and had a profound impact on the lives of roughly 55 people. As an outcome of the incredible results, PMP is looking to expand to impact over 200 students next summer. Besides the personal contributions made by the family and friends who donated, we recently applied for a $50K Pepsi Refresh Grant and hope to be in the November voting cycle for the chance to secure some much-needed funding. For more information on PMP, please visit www.pmpnyc.org. For opportunities to get involved, please check out more on our National Leadership Council through our website. 

Upon graduation, I hope to pursue a graduate degree in policy and one day have the opportunity to craft legislation that will help disadvantaged children succeed in the classroom and society.

I would like to give a special thank-you to my fellow Board members (Amy Mitchell, Andre Perez, Nicolas Savvides, and Brennan Spreitzer); our Advisory Board (Linda Gadsby, Robert Reffkin, Eddie Rodriguez, and Laura Smith); and our National Leadership Council (Edwin Huerta, Dipabali Chowdhury, Dana Covo, Tyler Shine, Zach West, Gabriel Kennedy, and Brandon Taylor); and an extra-special thanks to our donors and supporters, without whom PMP would not be possible.


See some of the wonderful work in action below: