Ranim Taha

11 years of HSBC’s Abu Dhabi golf championships, 2 years of the IB class of 2016 volunteering for it. The event has been pretty much the same as the year before, however as a class we were now much closer, nearing the end of our two years together. The task of setting up the leader-board for the public was efficient thanks to our hard work and collaboration, it was a wonderful end to volunteering for CAS and a beautiful beginning to volunteering for fun.

Footage of my job as a public announcer in Mubadala World Tennis Championship (MWTC) taken by a friend

Footage of me performing my task on: http://ranimthroughib.tumblr.com/post/142525802460/footage-of-my-job-as-a-public-announcer-in

IT’S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL TIME OF THE YEAR - and no it’s not Christmas. I still cannot grasp how running can be fun for anyone, running 5km at that, however, it is still one of the most looked forward to event in the year. Like the year before, it was a run f challenge and commitment for a greater cause, and the presence of friends made it it even better. I can’t let go of the memory of a woman wearing a shirt with a picture of her mother stapled to it, and the words, “this is for you mother”, for we all sadly know a person with this dilemma, and with events like this, we show them our love, devotion and support.

Battling anxiety is not easy. Battling anxiety and participating in an event that calls the best dressed and most debate-loving, research producing students is a living nightmare. However, to get over your fear, you must face it. The MUN conference was preceded by months of preparation on how to debate and research to get a feel of the actual thing. With the collaboration between me and fellow delegates, we were able to put together a resolution to protect future children of the world. During the conference I tried my best to pitch in and debate when i could, however it is sad to admit that I was often more quiet and internally freaking out. The event challenged me and taught me new things about myself as well as the global world around me, and it forced me to look at the world differently, thus even thought i had more panic attacks than should be healthy, I do not regret this conference, and hope to one day participate in one and possibly get a recognition award. 

Last year, I participated in the TED-Ed club at my school and enjoyed it tremendously. This year, I decided to facilitate and run my own with 11 students ranging from the 8th to the 12th grade. I was in charge of planning lessons that would both be entertaining yet educational, lessons that would allow them as well as push them into discovering there own passions to later create their own TED talks and presenting them using the methods we learned together. It’s been a tough challenge finding a method to teach varying ages and personalities, but i committed myself to the task, and i believe the result turned out great.

New year, new us, new ideas on the table. This year, we decided as the IB class of 2016 class to start our own IB bike club along with the junior class, the IB class of 2017 as a method to lose weight possibly but also get together and create memories and bond with the younger class. We continued this event for around 12 weeks till we started getting more and more busy, and the feedback we got and the experiences we shared were simply great. It will certainly been a memory to cherish and look back upon when we get busy, but for now we’re enjoying it to the max.

Seniors 2015, may you forever treasure your memories together and look back at your experience with love and happiness. This day was not just a day to reminisce and celebrate our friends, but also to manage and organize the guests insuring the event went faultlessly. We welcomed the guests and signed them in, directed them to their seats and, at some points, had to kindly request them to take their seats so that they don’t get in the way of other guest and thus not irritate them. Along with our tears of joy and overflowing emotion, this event went flawlessly as one can say thanks to the collaboration, commitment and initiative I along with my fellow classmates and volunteers presented.

I think I mentioned earlier that kids are adorable, well they are, especially if they’re hardly over one meter long and are on the verge of starting primary school. Al Najah hosts an annual graduation ceremony for the kindergarten children and their parents, to celebrate their transitioning into their primary stage of education. In this event, I had the task of assigning roles for my fellow classmates who were volunteering and organizing the childrens’ gowns as well as distributing them to their teachers and helping along backstage to ensure the event was as smooth as possible. Of course, as the very mature adolescents and young adults we are, we fangirled over the adorable children and helped them calm down. We also took it as our duty to heavily cheer and yell in appreciation over every performance prepared by the children. With our commitment, collaboration and initiative, we ensured the audience got an enjoyable experience and the event went on without any complications.

Ladies and Gentlemen prepare for takeoff! Travelling has always been a dream of mine, and therefore it came as no surprise when Al Najah announced their international trip to Portugal, I got incredibly excited and tried my best to go. Although the trip was in some way touristic, it was mainly for the purpose of experiencing challenging activities in an extraordinary and new environment. It was time to buckle up and face our fears because for those two weeks, we were going to undergo some major team building exercises with students we never interacted with prior and attempt to be athletic. In three distinct teams we performed many challenges such as building a car of everyday items and driving it around the field, to paintball and crawling through a mine, archery, trampolining and obstacle courses, as well as rock climbing and zip lining. I, for one, am not the most athletic person out there, and i may or may not have a slight fear of heights and zero upper body strength, so one can not imagine my happiness and excitement at accomplishing some of these activities. I remember feeling as if i conquered the world once i reached the top of the rock wall, and no other experience can ruin that. Commitment, collaboration and challenge, three ingredients for an incredibly successful and enjoyable experience.

P.S. Although unclear i am the one in the red headscarf near the physics stand.

Dressing up is always enjoyable, dressing up and attending an exclusive event with some of the greatest leaders and entrepreneurs out there in order to learn how to "unleash the beast within”, is even more exciting. The Young Leaders Development Program in Dubai was a mixture of elegance, learning and fun. Listening to the stories of the leaders present was inspiring and motivational. At the event however, I was given the task to live tweet the event, a task which I very much enjoyed, even though it ended up in endless visits to the media room at the other end of the university campus the event was held in. It is exciting seeing things you wrote on the events official twitter page for the whole world to see, as it is nerve wrecking. Nevertheless, I took the task with full force, listening carefully and taking notes on maybe the most unconventional spaces as can be seen on the agenda. The event was enjoyable and inspiring, and i look forward to attending such events in the future. It is with our commitment and collaboration we were able to learn how to become creative, innovative leaders of the future, thus acquiring new skills. 

More proof that volunteering is ten times better when your friends are around. The Terry Fox run is an event I’v always participated in running, however it was interesting working behind the scenes in the build up to the event. My task was to sell T-shirts to people interested in the event at a local mall. It was at this event that I empathized with sale clerks constantly on the run selling and promoting their products. Our participation as a group was a series of bombarding strangers, explaining the background of the run itself, and then convincing them of participating or donating to the cause. The times we were turned down were endless, yet it is with every victorious attempt that our spirits were lifted and our motivation increased. Between challenging one another to ask or sell more, and running to get appropriate sizes and change when not available, the volunteering was enjoyable. I distinctly remember at one instance near closing time, we had one single shirt left, and while the rest of the squad was exhausted, me and a fiend rushed around asking anyone and everyone to buy that shirt, and in the end sold it at the last minute. My job at the actual run day was more exhausting, however I was allocated different positions from those of my friends. I was assigned to sell more shirts at the entryway to those who wanted one but were too late. Selling designs from earlier years to the newly designed one, sizes were not enough, and suddenly we were left to adapt to the masses demanding t-shirts. We managed to convince adults who asked for a small to buy a kids size, and those for a medium to take a small, thus ensuring as many people got t-shirts and were satisfied. The event was challenging yet oh so fun, with our commitment and collaboration with both friends and strangers, we managed to spread awareness of a global cause and enjoy it at the same time.

Tribute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVzWNXl98R0&feature=youtu.be&t=8s&ab_channel=TED-EdClubs

Kids are cute and adorable, but when you get to sit and read with them in your free time, things get a little challenging. I have to admit, I now have more of an understanding and appreciation for a language teacher, for it’s not easy to sit and read with a kid without suppressing the urge to scream, at least for me. However, it, as an experience, taught me bits an pieces about my self, as well as strengthened my patience and self control, and helped me understand the care and devotion a teacher puts into their work. It is with my commitment to the cause and my collaboration with the teachers that i was able to face this challenge and quire new skills.

I am not the biggest expert on how golf works, but when the opportunity arised to volunteer at HSBC’s tenth annual golf championship featuring some of the worlds most renowned and famous players, I thought no harm could come from giving it a shot. The experience has been amazing in short, we were given walkies to communicate with the home base, along with maps and schedules to set us up for any upcoming questions and a handy task. It was odd and amusing seeing a bunch of adults approaching 16-17 year olds and asking them about the event, trusting them to know and give them the correct information, and i must admit some were often misleading as we ourselves weren't completely well informed, but we took the task up and tried our very best. We had to continuously check the PDA given to us for any information on the players coming to our hole in order to update the scoreboard behind us as can be seen in the pictures above. At one point, I even had to control an electronic board at one of the more advanced holes, and setting up a live stream score is quite exciting as it is nerve wrecking due to the presence of many people relying on you for the correct information. Fortunately, the 2 days went by generally smoothly thanks to our commitment and hard work as well as our efficient collaboration, this will always be one of my most favorite CAS activities.

2nd of December, UAE’s National day, a day full of glistening fireworks, glamour, partying and joy. Al Najah celebrated the UAE’s National day in typical manner, dressing up proudly in the country’s flag colors and honoring 43 years of prosperity. I contributed to this event by volunteering to decorate and organize as well as selling merchandise and applying henna to the children around the schools. We raised funds for charity through this event and taught children of the UAE’s glimmering history and founders. Thus we showed collaboration and commitment to the event as well as taking an initiative in order to give the celebration our own signature mark.