Discussions on matters related to faith & the practice of Islam in the West.

Open to all. Suggested age range: 16+

Discussions on matters related to faith & the practice of Islam in the West.

Open to all. Suggested age range: 16+

Discussions on matters related to faith & the practice of Islam in the West.

Open to all. Suggested age range: 16+

Discussions on matters related to faith & the practice of Islam in the West.

Open to all. Suggested age range: 16+

Discussions on matters related to faith & the practice of Islam in the West.

Open to all. Suggested age range: 16+

Discussions on matters related to faith & the practice of Islam in the West.

Open to all. Suggested age range: 16+

A discussion with CKS alums on how they selected, pursued, and practice their career paths, as part of a series of career-specific panel discussions.

To register:

City of Knowledge students are not required to register for the event. Non-CKS students may register here to receive the Zoom link.

About our Panelists:

Dr. Ali Rahnama 

Fellowship Trained Foot & Ankle Surgeon 

Assistant Professor, Georgetown University School of Medicine Washington, D.C.

Ali Rahnama is a fellowship-trained foot and ankle surgeon and an assistant professor at Georgetown University’s School of Medicine in Washington D.C. Ali Rahnama graduated from City of Knowledge in the year of 2004 and continued his undergraduate studies at Cal Poly Pomona, further receiving his bachelor's degree in 2008. To pursue his career in medicine, he further attended Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine and continued his residency at Wayne State University School of Medicine in Michigan, focused in the Department of Orthopedics, section of foot and ankle surgery. Ali then completed his specialty fellowship in traumatic and reconstructive foot and ankle fellowship with the Southeast Permanente Medical Group. 
Temple University School of Podiatric Medicine: 2014, Wayne State University School of Medicine: residency. Dept. of Orthopedics, section of foot and ankle surgery 2017. Southeast Permanente Medical Group: Traumatic and Reconstructive Foot & Ankle Fellowship 2018

Samaneh (Sammy) Keshavarz 

MS4 (4th year medical student) 

Samaneh Keshavarz  is not a CKS alum; however, she’s an honorary alumna as the spouse of Dr. Ali Rahnama. She is completing her fourth year in medical school at George Washington University School of Medicine and is part of class of 2021. After high school, Samaneh completed her undergraduate studies at University of California San Diego (UCSD) and now as she is completing her last year of medical school, she is applying to Psychiatry programs in the north east to complete her residency. 

UCSD 2015, George Washington University School of Medicine c/o 2021 

Dr. Narges Moaddel 

Attending, Family Medicine, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center

Narges graduated from City of Knowledge in 2007 and completed her undergraduate studies at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She pursued her career in medicine at the American University of the Caribbean and completed her residency in 2020, focused on family medicine at the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. Narges now is working part-time as an attending at her residency program and full time as a mom. 

CKS ‘07, UCLA ‘11, AUC ‘16,  Arrowhead Regional Medical Center ‘20

Mehdi Baig 

Internal Medicine Match Candidate 2021

Mehdi Baig  graduated from City of Knowledge in 2009 and earned his Bachelor's degree from UC Berkeley. He is currently completing his 4th year clinical rotations at Arrowhead Regional Hospital in Colton, CA and is an Internal Medicine match candidate 2021 from St. George’s University SOM. 

Prior to medical school, he completed a Master of Business Science at the Claremont Colleges, which gave him unique insights in biopharmaceuticals, finance, and the healthcare industry. 

In addition to being committed to medical school, he is conducting Obesity & Diabetes research at City of Hope. He uses his spare time to play basketball, tutor, or go on road trips.

CKS ‘09, Cal ‘13, Keck Graduate Institute ‘17. St. George’s SOM ‘21 

Dr. Azadeh Salami

Pediatrician, Northeast Community Clinic FQHC

Azadeh Salami graduated from City of Knowledge in 2001 and earned her Bachelor’s degree of Science in Biology and minor in English Literature at Cal Poly Pomona with receiving Honor Cord, Magna Cum Laude. She further received her Medical degree at Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara in Mexico and completed her internship at New York Medical College. She further finished her pediatric residency program at White memorial medical center + children's hospital in Los Angeles. Azadeh now works as a practicing pediatrician at Northeast Community Clinic FQHC.

CKS ‘01, CPP ‘05, Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara ‘09, New York medical College ‘10, White Memorial Medical Center + Children's Hospital LA ‘13, Northeast community clinic FQHC: 2013- present

Discussions on matters related to faith & the practice of Islam in the West.

Open to all. Suggested age range: 16+

Our High School Open House, led by City of Knowledge students and alums, will take place via Zoom.

To Register: Click HERE

Panelists:

Ahmad Alhankawi (CKS ‘19, Pomona College ‘23)

Ayesha Rahman (CKS ‘20, Stanford ‘24)

Aida Aryan (CKS ‘21)

Sia Bhalla (CKS ‘22)

Ehsan Aryan (CKS ‘24)

Discussions on matters related to faith & the practice of Islam in the West.

Open to all. Suggested age range: 16+

Discussions on matters related to faith & the practice of Islam in the West.

Open to all. Suggested age range: 16+

Discussions on matters related to faith & the practice of Islam in the West.

Open to all. Suggested age range: 16+

Discussions on matters related to faith & the practice of Islam in the West.

Open to all. Suggested age range: 16+

A discussion with CKS alums on how they selected, pursued, and practice their career paths, as part of a series of career-specific panel discussions. Scroll down for registration information.

About our panelists:

Zoha Khalili

Staff attorney, Palestine Legal

Zoha provides legal advice and advocacy support to Palestine rights activists, students and professors on the West Coast on issues ranging from free speech violations, discrimination, threats, surveillance and disciplinary charges.

Zoha's legal career has been devoted to defending the rights of marginalized communities. Before joining Palestine Legal, Zoha fought against housing discrimination and advocated on behalf of people with disabilities, represented immigrants in naturalization and deportation proceedings, and volunteered with the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, assisting with a variety of civil rights and immigration cases.

Zoha graduated from City of Knowledge in 2004, received a B.S. in Chemistry from UC Berkeley in 2008, and received a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was a Harlan Fiske Scholar and managing editor of the Columbia Law Review, in 2013.

Omid Rahnama

Associate, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP (NY)

Omid is a member of the Corporate Restructuring group, where he advises companies, hedge funds, private equity firms, banks, and other clients on all matters related to the restructuring of distressed companies, including filing chapter 11 bankruptcy. Omid likes to think that he saves people (because, you know, corporations are people too).

Omid graduated The George Washington University Law School in Washington, D.C. in 2018.

Prior to law school: Omid graduated CKS in 2007, UCLA in 2011, worked as a legal as assistant from 2011-13, and taught English in Tunisia from 2013-15.

Omid understands he’s not nearly as cool as Zayneb, Zoha, and Isha, but has come to terms with this following many years of inward reflection.

Isha Abdi

Asylum Officer, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)

Isha is an Asylum officer at USCIS, an agency within the Department of Homeland Security. Isha adjudicates complex and sensitive immigration benefits, asylum applications, other benefit applications managed by the asylum program, including motions to reopen and reconsider, and conducts credible/reasonable fear screenings.

Prior to joining USCIS, Isha briefly practiced as a criminal defense attorney and then as an immigration attorney, focusing primarily on removal defense and family based petitions.

Isha graduated from City of Knowledge in 2004, received her B.A. from UCLA in 2008, and received her J.D. from USC in 2011.

Zayneb Shaikley

Principal, Beyond Advisers

As a member of the lead team at Beyond Advisers, Zayneb works with clients to refine, grow, and scale organizational operations, advising their boards of directors, senior management, and internal enterprise teams on matters related to board governance, employment practices, commercial transactions, issues affecting tax-exempt organizations, and compliance with other applicable regulatory frameworks.

Prior to joining Beyond, Zayneb worked at the Clinton Foundation for ten years, most recently serving as Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of the Board of Directors. She played a key role in developing and leading the legal department, counseling the Board and senior leadership, establishing successful legal structures and entities in various countries to support the Foundation’s work, and providing strategic and operational guidance to program teams of some of the most dynamic philanthropic and cross-sector programs and partnerships in the world.

Zayneb graduated from City of Knowledge in 2000, received a B.A. from UCLA in 2004, and a J.D. from USC in 2007.

To register:

City of Knowledge students are not required to register for the event. Non-CKS students may register here to receive the Zoom link.

Discover how to select and find the best college for you, including how to select a college and find the right resources during a pandemic.

Presented by Noor Haddad from CollegeWise, as part of a collaboration between City of Knowledge and The Asomugha Foundation.

Discussions on matters related to faith & the practice of Islam in the West.

Open to all. Suggested age range: 16+

BUILDING YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
How to tell your authentic and full story in your college application
HAMADA ZAHAWI

With 100,000s of applicants to college each year, high test scores and grades alone are not enough! In fact, one of the most important parts of the admissions process that can help distinguish one student from the rest of the applicant pool is their unique story. However, telling an authentic and effective story requires strong personal branding and the ability to develop life experiences that can help the student become a stand-out applicant. Through the course of the workshop, Hamada Zahawi, an attorney and entrepreneur who is the founder and CEO of college admissions consulting company WriteTrack Admissions, will be working with students on how to “Build their story” through key learnings in how to develop important life experiences (academic, social, extracurricular, volunteer), forming a unique narrative (personal brand), and applying the story in a highly creative and memorable college application. Through Hamada’s 10+ years of experience helping 1,000+ applicants, he will leverage his proprietary methodologies to help applicants greatly increase their chance of admissions into their dream school.

Presented by Hamada Zahawi from WriteTrack Admissions, as part of a collaboration between City of Knowledge and The Asomugha Foundation.

It’s time to find out what “FAFSA” means! This session, led by financial aid expert Catherine Graham, will guide students through the college financing process. Catherine will leverage her 30 years of financial aid experience to help students navigate their college financial aid experience. She will cover important topics such as important dates and deadlines, maximizing grants and scholarships, minimizing after college debt, learning how financial aid is determined, discovering colleges with winning outcomes, understanding total college costs, and navigating all financial aid applications!

Presented by Catherine Graham from The Financial Aid Shop, as part of a collaboration between City of Knowledge and The Asomugha Foundation.