An amused Australilan cadet stands by as Cadet Col. Syed Mohammed Karim speaks to a group during his visit Down Under in 2007 through the International Air Cadet Exchange program.
Janet Adams
Contributing Writer
VIRGINIA -- For Cadet Col. Syed Mohammed Karim, the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship Award is more than recognition of his achievements in the sciences.
Indeed, it confirms his choice of career.
Karim, in his junior year at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Va., was recently awarded the highly competitive scholarship under a program honoring the late U.S. senator from Arizona. It was designed to foster and encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. Established by an act of Congress in 1986, the Goldwater acholarship is the premier undergraduate award for college students studying the sciences.
Immersed in a double major program – chemistry and sociology – at VCU, Karim was one of 190 science and related majors recipients selected from a field of 1,097 students nominated by faculties at colleges and universities across the nation. Only 278 scholarships were awarded in all disciplines.
The scholarships cover tuition, books, room and board and other fees up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.
How did a 20-year-old member of the Maryland Wing’s Bethesda-Chevy Chase Composite Squadron attain this distinction? By being a high-achieving student already recognized for cardiac medical research publications in his current field of study – the effectiveness of magnetic resonance imaging in measuring the size of myocardial infarction – in journals such as Circulation: The Journal of the American Heart Association.
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Such accomplishments are nothing new for Karim. In the summer of 2007, he visited Australia as an International Air Cadet Exchange participant. Earlier that year, he earned the highest CAP distinction for cadets -- the coveted Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award, achieved by less than 1 percent of all cadets. The past two years, he has served as program manager for The Spaatz Association’s annual midwinter dinners and remains active in that group’s activities.
In 2006 at Cadet Officer School, Karim caught the eye of CAP National Headquarters staffers. “Cadet Col. Karim is a terrific cadet,” said Bobbie Tourville, now chief of professional development at National Headquarters. “It takes a rare combination of maturity, intelligence and intensity to become a Spaatz cadet and be at the top of his high school/college class at the same time.”
Tourville was immediately struck by Karim’s leadership ability, which continued in 2007 when he was accepted to IACE, where he made an outstanding impression on his fellow cadets – here and abroad, she said.
“I applaud Mohammed’s family, CAP leaders and peers, as well as his teachers, in giving him support and opportunities to grow,” Tourville said. “I look forward to watching him progress through medical school and to see him blossom into the physician and leader I know he can be.”
Karim credits his parents at home in Gaithersburg, Md., with much of his early success.
“My parents were and are my role models,” he said. “My mother is a physician with the U.S. Army, and my father is a strategic force development adviser for the Air Force.
“Their dedication to public service and commitment to excellence have been my inspiration to achieve. They have always encouraged me to do my best in whatever I attempted.”
After joining the Bethesda-Chevy Chase squadron in September 2003 at age 14, Karim had his sights set on attending the U.S. Air Force Academy and was leaning toward a career as a pilot. But his love for the sciences and a deep commitment to public service, to making a difference in the lives of others, led him to the eight-year medical program at VCU.
Karim credits the versatility of the CAP cadet program, with its focus on developing self- confidence and discipline, with helping him learn to think strategically, to set goals and to take advantage of opportunities for public speaking, which he feels develops dynamic personalities.
“I was not a traditional CAP cadet in that I did not work toward a career in aviation,” he said, “but I used the valuable lessons I learned in the cadet program to pursue a life in science and medicine as a physician in the U.S. Air Force.”
If his achievements to date are any indication of future success, Karim is well on his way to realizing his incredible potential.
