Meet Marshall Fundamental School Co-Valedictorians Benjamin Karish and Kareem Shaheen

INSIDE OUR SCHOOLS

(L-R) Ben Karish and Kareem Shaheen (Photos – Felita Kealing)

Marshall Fundamental has two valedictorians in 2022.

By Felita Kealing

Benjamin Karish

Marshall Fundamental Co-Valedictorian Benjamin Karish has been a Marshall Eagle since 9th grade following his promotion from Walter Reed Middle School in LAUSD. He attended PUSD Willard Elementary for grades Kindergarten through Fifth Grade.

Ben has been active in Frisbee Club, Math Club, Chess Club, Jewish Club, and was the Science Bowl Captain his junior and senior years. Ben played on the Junior Varsity Tennis Team as a freshman, however, he turned his attention to running participating in Cross Country in grades 10th through 12th grades, and Track & Field his sophomore and senior years, placing third in the Mission Valley League Finals in the 800-meter in his senior year.

In the Summer of 2019, Ben volunteered with the Pasadena Educational Foundation Summer Enrichment Program (PEF) as a Youth Leader in the Chess Class and worked as a counselor at Tom Sawyer Camp in Summer 2021.

Ben is recognized by the College Board as an AP Scholar with Distinction and is a 2022 National Merit Commended Scholar. He will be studying engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.

Kareem Shaheen

Marshall Fundamental Co-Valedictorian Kareem Shaheen joined the Marshall Eagle Family in 9th grade following his promotion from Sierra Madre Middle School. His club memberships have included the National Honor Society, the Journalism Club, Mock Trial Team, Science Bowl Team, the Astrophysics Club, Math Club, Model United Nations, Science National Honor Society, and the Middle Eastern Club.

Kareem is an AP Capstone Diploma Candidate for his research topic, “Atoms in Accounting, Entanglement in Emails, and Qubits in Cryptography: The Danger to the Digital World.” He spent the last summer as an intern through the Caltech Summer Research Connection where he was able to conduct scientific research with a student-teacher group under the guidance of a professor.

Kareem represented Marshall Fundamental as a Boys State Delegate and won the Legal Advocacy Competition. As a volunteer, he spent his time assisting at Methodist Hospital Arcadia and the Burbank Islamic Center.

Kareem has been recognized by the College Board as an AP Scholar with Distinction. He plans to attend Yale College where he will major in Electrical Engineering & Computer Science.