Personal Statement
My name is Ali Lahrichi, a fully Moroccan soul ready to leave behind his home country to pursue postsecondary education. I am 18 years old, and currently a student at George Washington Academy in Casablanca, Morocco. 5.9 feet tall and weigh 145 pounds, the psychological skills I have developed through the years will assist me in being the student-athlete you are looking for. Through my constantly flourishing social skills and unlimited energy, I will be able to perfectly balance school, tennis and friends to reach my full potential as a student-athlete..
I started playing tennis at the age of 5 and have since then been through plenty of ups and downs. At age 14, I accumulated a total of 5 wins in Moroccan national tournaments. In addition, I have also achieved numerous finals while playing doubles. Unfortunately COVID restrictions limited my participation for the past 2 years. I had just begun my ITF season when regulations were established and once the quarantine was lifted, most tournaments were outside of Morocco. I would’ve loved to resume the circuit however my family finances did not align and the costs of travel were overwhelming. At that moment, I implemented resilience and adaptability which allowed me to enhance my skills and continuously practice for full preparation for the next season. Thus, to this day I have reached a UTR ranking of 8 and place at the 6th spot in the Moroccan U18 category.
I am pursuing the International Baccalaureate and will be passing the exams of this two-year course in May 2023. In essence, I have yet to make a final decision on the major I wish to seek but certain fields of study attract my attention more than others. For example, management would be ideal as I have through personal experience gained team building and adaptability capabilities which would bring value to organizations I would take part in. A biomedical engineering major is also compelling to me as I have a strong relationship with biology and chemistry and a particular interest in the subject. But overall, I know I have the competencies and power to fulfill both majors while being an athlete.
