Adil Abulalim was born in Ababa, Ethiopia on December 7, 2000. He spent his kindergarten to high school years in Ethiopia and moved to the United States a year after graduating high school. During his time in Ethiopia, Adil went to three different schools, for kindergarten to 8th grade he attended Blue Bird, 9th and 10th grade he attended Glory, and for 11th to 12th grade he attended Diamond Academy. After moving to the United States in December of 2020, Adil went to Kansas State University for one semester, then started attending GSU in the fall semester of 2021 and is currently in the 2nd semester of his first year.

Adil Abulalim

From his kindergarten to 6th grade years, he was doing great in school and had no major issues learning or comprehending all subjects learned. When he made it to 7th grade, he excelled when learning subjects like Biology, Chemistry, and Physics, but math was a difficult subject for him to understand, especially during the first few months of school. Although it was challenging, he got over this obstacle and passed on to the 8th grade. In 8th grade he did well, and at the end of the year took the Ministry National exam, which he passed, and it moved him up to the 9th grade.  

In the 9th grade, he attended a school called Glory, which he stayed at until the end of his 10th grade year. Within these years, he did exceptionally well in all subjects, except math, which became increasingly harder for him to understand. Although he was struggling with math, he was still getting average scores on his tests. Since he still did not understand math, his uncle helped him with it every day after school. The tutoring from his uncle really helped him and over time his grade for math got better.  

Then during his 10th grade year, he took another national exam and passed, this helped him transfer to Diamond Academy for his 11th and 12th grade years. During these last two years of high school, he did well and graduated, but since the pandemic happened during his graduation year the ceremony was delayed, and he was simply handed his certificate.  

During his 11th grade year, Adil injured his knee while playing soccer and had to stop attending school for a few months. During these few months he thought about his future and about what careers he would like to pursue. This little break from school helped him figure out what he wanted to do with life. Another thing that helped him figure out what he wanted to do with his life was his culture. In Ethiopian culture, it is believed that the key to success is knowledge and that is why knowledge is a highly valued asset. This belief influenced Adil tremendously and continuously motivated him to work hard when it came to his studies. Also, Ethiopia being a third world country is what influenced him to get a good education to give more opportunities to himself and his family, and to later help his country.

Adil’s passion for gaining more knowledge is the reason why he came to the United States. And that is also the reason why he continuously works on academic skills that he lacks, such as time management and not using proper study techniques. Adil’s academic journey had led him to become a Business Administration Undergraduate, majoring in Finance. He also stated that he has later plans to minor in International Relations.