Februrary 2010 - Adeel Ahmed
Detroit, Great Lakes

When asked what they want to be when they grow up, many children respond by saying movie star, singer, video game player, or any other “profession” which occupies their mind at that time.  Many children do not think about their future at all at that time in their lives.  However, as a child, whenever anyone would ask Adeel Ahmed, currently the Naib Qaid of the Detroit Jama’at and a Waqf-e-Nau, what his plans were, he would firmly answer “Engineer”.  Growing up, not only was he very studious, Adeel was also very involved in the Jama’at.  He attended all the Jama’at activities and won awards for recitation, memorization, and speech competitions in local, regional and national Ijtemas.  Even as a Tifl, the elders respected him and the children looked up to him. 
Once he became a Khadim, Adeel was given the responsibility of being Nazim Atfal and Naib Nazim Tabligh.  One of his major accomplishments during this time was that not only did he help spread the message of Islam and Ahmadiyyat through many tabligh stalls; he also helped bring the Detroit Atfal closer together.  Although he was a teenager himself, he would help teach at the local Jama’at school, and would arrange monthly sleepovers for the Atfal.  At the time, the Detroit Jama’at did not have the luxury of having their own Mosque, and many families lived far apart, hence making it difficult for the children to interact with one another.  However, thanks to the sleepovers, the Atfal could meet up every month and get to know one another much better.  During these sleepovers, the Atfal built brotherly bonds between them, and participated in fun activities along with religious education. 
Not only did Adeel spend a great amount of time with the Jama’at, he also devoted his time to his studies.  Adeel attended the International Academy from 9th to 12th grade, which was recognized as being the top public high school in the United States by Newsweek in 2003, and the 2nd best high school in the nation in 2004 and 2005.  As a junior in high school, he enrolled in an engineering mentorship program sponsored by General Motors, where he worked with Computer Aided Design for designing automobile parts by using Unigraphics.  This strengthened his resolve in becoming an engineer, and that summer, rather than relaxing during his break like most of his classmates, he applied for and got accepted into an internship for General Motors.  During his time at the International Academy, Adeel was also a member of the National Honor Society, a prestigious organization recognizing outstanding high school students throughout the nation. 
Upon graduating from the International Academy in 2005, Adeel enrolled in Kettering University, one of the top ranked engineering universities in America.  He continued his internship for General Motors throughout his college career, working in many different fields, including the Energy Center and Hybrid Development, working as a test engineer.  Throughout his enrollment, Adeel was on the Dean’s List, which recognized excelling students in the University.  Upon graduation with a Mechanical Engineering Degree from Kettering University in December of 2009, Adeel was hired by General Motors to work on their upcoming breakthrough vehicle, the Chevrolet Volt, helping to design and improve upon the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system. 
Adeel also has many responsibilities within the Jama’at.  He is currently serving as Naib Qaid Detroit, along with Nazim Khidmat-e-Khalq.  He helped organized the Detroit Jama’at’s first blood drive, held in Masjid Mahmood in July of 2009, and is currently organizing the second blood drive to be held in late January.  Also, every month, Adeel helps serve food at a local Soup Kitchen and organizes the donation of chicken to the Soup Kitchen, and participates in the Adopt-the-Highway program whenever needed as well.  When the local Masjid was being built, Adeel devoted several weeks of his time to help install the highly advanced Audio/Visual system.   Adeel’s devotion to education and the Jama’at is what truly makes him a Shining Star.