Presenting Hotelie Hall of Fame Story - Rising Star: Karim Abouelnaga '13
An excerpt from Karim's story...
Coined as a natural teacher and referred to as a “rock star” by audiences who hear his message, Karim Abouelnaga ’13 is a young, dynamic entrepreneur that we can all learn from. Born to immigrant parents, raised by a single mother, and astutely navigating the streets and his inner-city public schools, Karim was the first one in his family to attend college and won over a quarter million dollars in scholarship and aid to attend and graduate in the top 10% of his ivy league university, Cornell. Upon graduation, he turned down his Wall Street job offer to commit his life to educational equity.
At 18, Karim founded PRACTICE to level the playing field over the summer for kids growing up in disadvantaged neighborhoods just like him. In the two years after college, Karim and his team raised over $2 million from some of NYC’s most well-respected philanthropists – including the Rockefeller, Tisch, Mailman, Sackler, and Ackman families – all before turning 24 years old.