My name is Tawfeeq Alimami, and I am a senior at Waukee High School. Currently, I am enrolled in my third APEX course, and I have definitely gained many benefits from the program.

My first APEX course was in the fall of 2019, and I was a junior. The course that I chose was the Exploration of Health Sciences and Medicine. The reason that I chose this course was because I was interested in pursuing a career as a family physician. Throughout this course, I was involved in three main projects. The first project was with Prevent Blindness Iowa, and it took me to elementary schools to conduct vision screenings with students. The second project also placed me in schools, as I traveled around to teach kids about human anatomy through the use of virtual reality. Finally, I worked with the AEA to create a website that gives information about becoming a pharmacist. This APEX course helped me explore medical careers, but I also benefited a lot from the APEX environment. APEX helps teach student associates how to solve problems, which is a valuable skill for any aspiring professional to have. I also built a resume, a LinkedIn profile, and networked with many business professionals, which was something different than the traditional high school setting. I really grew to appreciate the APEX model where students gain business experience through project work, while companies benefit from having projects completed for them. I was so impressed to see how this model benefits the entire community.

I enjoyed APEX so much that I decided to sign up for Medical and BioScience Research. I was still interested in pursuing a career path in the medical field, and I knew that a research course would be important for me to have. My primary research project in this course was with Iowa State University in which I used area cover percentage to determine the best type of turf to plant. Another research project involved utilizing a method called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to work on a marigold project with a local business partner. My instructor was Dr. Holly Showalter, and she was a tremendous mentor for me.

Currently, I am enrolled in the Developing Web-Based Technologies course because technology is another subject area that I am very interested in. I am excited to see all that I will learn and experience through this course as well.

Throughout my time in APEX I have learned and grown so much. I get better with each project that I work on and with each partner I connect with. APEX has helped me carve out my path for the future, and for that, I am eternally grateful!