Michael Kaleem

Responsible, ambitious, confident, and reliable student with excellent communication and leadership skills. Has a passion for chess and hopes to teach students and inspire girls to play chess in hopes of helping them to build self-confidence and improve critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Demonstrates willingness to be unique and try new things through enrolling in a high school in West Africa. Cross-cultural communication skills through collaboration with diverse groups of individuals. Personable Learning Assistant with solid background providing support and assistance to students, teachers and administrators in classroom settings. Skilled in creating engaging lesson plans and providing one-on-one guidance to students. Strong organizational skills and dedicated to helping students succeed.

January 2024 - (Present) - Awarded INTO Mason $6000 Scholarship per year.




January 2023 - Invited to the U18 Africa Continental Championship in Egypt and U18 World Championship in Italy




September 2023 - Soccer Charity Cup winner with George Mason University




November 2023 - Qualified for collegiate chess league playoffs with George Mason University




October 2022 - Ghana National Under-18 Chess Tournament, Accra, Ghana (1st Place)




October 2022 - (Present) - Part of the Ghana National Chess team




May 2019 - US Chess Center Tournament, McLean, Va

(1st Place)




June 2019 - 14th Annual M.L.K. Jr. Championship, Washington, DC (2nd Place)

• March 2024 - Present, CPR AND FIRST AID (RED CROSS)

• April 2024 - Present, Certified Peer Educator (NASPA)

• May 2024, Step on the lawn event, Helped with step on the lawn event, setup and cleanup of the event and also ran some of the stations.

- ran the snow cone and popcorn machine

- aided and explained to people what the event was about

• March 2023, Hosting 2nd ever chess tournament at my school, Hosting 2nd ever chess tournament at my school to raise funds for the outdoor chess board.

- gave speeches during assembly to promote hosting my very own chess tournament and the benefits to playing chess. 

- presented the awards during assembly once the tournament came to an end. 

- overall goal was to promote female participation and the tournament had 50 participants (30 male and 20 female) 

• December 2023, St Michael & All Angels Church, Maryland, Volunteered at St Michael & All Angels Church in Maryland

- aided in sorting kitchen supplies 

- aided in carrying heavy items and setup of tables/chairs

• January 2022 - May 2023, Class Representative, Nominated by peers to represent the class. Duties include speaking about problems around the school and bringing them up during council meetings and ensuring that everyone is being treated equally and it is my duty to ensure that everyone is comfortable so if there is any problems between two people it is also my job to help resolve it so that we can stay united as a class.

• February 2022 - June 2023, Peer Tutor, Chemistry and Math, Tema, Ghana, Provide online and in person tutoring for Math and Chemistry students at Tema International School.

- Assisted students in my school who needed help with Math and Chemistry in the rigorous IB program. Aided them in solving various practice questions and understanding topics throughout their course. 

• May 2022, Beach Cleanup, Went around and picked rubbish around the beach at Labadi beach in Ghana

- aided in removing plastics from the polluted beach. 

- once my groups portion was finished I decided to help other groups with their portion of the beach

• October 2022 - June 2023, President of the TIS Chess Club,

- Taught and provided lessons to the rest of the club

- Hosted in club tournaments for practice for tournaments that we went to.

- Spoke to elementary school students from other schools about our club and provided them a few lessons.

- Spoke with administrators to organize any funding we needed for any tournaments. 

• December 2022, Project Helix CAS Project leader (Creativity, Action and Service), Project Helix, a project that aims to help renovate the anyako health center so that patients have the most comfortable stay possible at the health center and they can get treated effectively.

- Elected leader of this project we raised funds to donate office chairs, patient chairs, windows, boreholes and cleaning supplies

- gave a speech as the leader of this project to the entire anyako community 

• September 2019, Deal Middle School, Washington, DC, Designed a project and conducted a cleanup effort in local park (Janney elementary school)

- removed weeds and garbage with gardening tools.

- assisted staff to pickup plastics that were left on the ground around the campus

• June 2018, Brooks Dreams Foundation, Tamale, Ghana, Designed and conducted in-person chess workshops for students (K-12). Ghana, West Africa.

- I organized a chess workshop with the all girls school, brooks dreams foundation, in Tamale.

- taught them how to move pieces and also gave them some basic worksheets.

- had them play games at the very end of the lesson to showcase what they have learned.

• July 2017 - July 2018, Horace Mann elementary school, Washington, DC, Provided ad hoc volunteer services over the course of a 3-year period. Assisted the school administrators and staff with various tasks within the school. Organized and hosted an in-person chess workshop for approximately 30 elementary school students.

January 2024 - Shadowed multiple Orthopedic surgeon operations with Dr. Ryan Murray at Medstar health 

- watched surgeries on knees and shoulders. 

- engaged in conversation and diagnosis with the other doctors in the room. 

May 2024 - Shadowed Orthodontist Dr.  Stephen Tigani at Tigani Orthodontics 

- observed cleaning of teeth, removal of braces and retainers. 

- learned about 3d printing and how that works. 

- learned about the different parts of owning a private practice. 

October 2023 - (present), Chess book, Forthcoming

• International Travel, Typical length of stay for 3-months (or more): Senegal, West Africa (Dakar), Ghana, West Africa (Tema, Accra, Tamale), Belgium, Europe (Braine L’Alleud). Goal to obtain a more global understanding of different cultures and locations.

• Love to play chess and soccer