Computer science and engineering major helps people while having fun
Sami Alsheikh’s time at MIT has been guided by a few simple principles: pursue things you enjoy, develop useful skills that can be applied in different ways, and help people as much as possible. Over the past four years, whether he has been absorbed in computer science courses, building a platform to increase political engagement, or playing with campers as a counselor at Camp Kesem, Alsheikh has managed to live by all three. Alsheikh, a senior computer science and engineering major, grew up in Pensacola, Florida. His parents, both physicians, moved from Syria to the United States before he was born, seeking better professional opportunities. Alsheikh’s extended family still lives in Syria, and he and his family visited every summer until 2011. Alsheikh describes Pensacola as a politically conservative region, a sharp contrast to the more liberal area around MIT. He appreciates that his experiences living in parts of the United...