While escaping a brutal civil war in his native country, Sierra Leone, at 13, Ibrahim almost lost his life in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean before spending seven years as a refugee in The Gambia. He moved to the U.S. in 2004, and in June 2007, earned an Associate's Degree in Business Administration, with honors, from Baltimore City Community College, where he was inducted into Phi Theta Kappa, Kappa Beta Delta, and was a member of The National Dean's List.

Ibrahim attended the University of Baltimore (UB) between the Fall of 2007 and Spring 2009, and can tackle many different demands at once. He was an honor student, Hammonds Scholar (earned full scholarship & laptop), and was certified as an Emerging Leader by UB's Center for Student Involvement in 2008. In his final year, he was Vice President of Communications for the Student Events Board (SEB), serving as Webmaster among duties, and also managing an Advertizing and Promotions Manager, and a Public Relations Manager. He created several documentaries of his organization's events (click here to see samples), and also established partnership with the Maryland Institute College of Arts (MICA).

He was IT Chair for the UB chapter of Collegiate Entrepreneur's Organization (CEO Club); Senior Staff Writer for The UB Post, the university's student newspaper; and Peer Network Advisor for the Academic Resource Center.

He was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK), National Leadership Honor Society, and was part of the Volunteers Committee; Sigma Iota Epsilon, the National Honorary and Professional Management Fraternity; the Helen P. Denit Honors Program; and African Student Association. He was a Team Leader during the 2009 Annual UB Community Service Day, and a volunteer at the 2009 UB Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Conference.

Ibrahim, 26, participated in several panel discussions on campus, and proofread the works of many students (friends).

He presented to honor students at the Community College of Baltimore County (Essex), on behalf of UB's Helen P. Denit Honors program, on April 17, 2009. He was UB's representative at the MD. Washington Minority Contractors' Association (MWMCA) 6th Annual Spring Breakfast; guest speaker at UB's Annual Scholarship Luncheon Celebration hosted by the university's President Robert L. Bogomolny; and, representative of the Senior Class to speak at the May 20, 2009 Commencement Ceremony.

Part of a note to Ibrahim from Darlene B. Smith, Dean, Merrick School of Business read: "Congratulations on your participation in the Helen P. Denit Honors program and your presentation on 'VoIP and Its Implementation at the University of Baltimore.' We, at the Merrick School of Business, are very proud of our highly talented, motivated, and career-oriented students such as yourself."

During his time at UB, Ibrahim continued to serve as Communications Coordinator, Webmaster, Trustee, Acolyte, Soloist, and a member of the Music and Worship Committee at Old Otterbein United Methodist Church (oldest surviving church in Baltimore City); Contributor to THE League and FreeKick, British and Canadian magazines, respectively; Honorary President of the Cameroon Association of Active Youths Sport Academy for the Underprivileged (CAMAAYSAP), a Cameroon-based non-governmental organization in Cameroon, Central Africa; and Team Player of Switzerland-based International Platform of Sports and Development. He was also active with NeonCirc, a non-governmental organization he co-founded in Baltimore, Maryland.

His ability to successfully tackle many demands at once dates back to between 2000 and 2007, when, as Africa Correspondent, and later, Africa Editor of Goal.com (formerly SoccerAge.com), one of the first 700 websites in the world, according to Alexa.com, he managed a network of correspondents around the world. At 16, he had started working for Goal.com---the largest soccer website with 10 million unique visitors each month. Ibrahim has been commended for his actions by many people, including Mr. Adolf Ogi, former President of Switzerland, also former Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace.

Ibrahim served as Round Table Facilitator at UB's International Students Orientation on August 27, 2009, and was guest speaker at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania, on October 1, 2009.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS:

On May 3rd, 2009, Ibrahim won six honors at the Annual UB Merit Awards Ceremony:

1. Certificate of Appreciation - University of Baltimore Student Events Board (www.ubalt.edu/seb)
2. Outstanding Member Award for "outstanding contribution and exemplary leadership to the Student Events Board" - 2008/2009 
3. Laurence Short Academic Award for International Students for "academic excellence and co-curricular involvement" - 2008/2009 
4. Certificate of Merit for "academic excellence within the Management Information Systems Program" - 2008/2009 
5. Service Learning Scholar Award for 2008 for "successfully combining public service with educational goals, thus enhancing student learning while benefiting the larger community" 
6. President's Award for "Academic Excellence, Leadership, and Outstanding Contributions to Community Service and The University Of Baltimore" - 2008/2009

Other recognitions he received over the last year included:

Certificate of Appreciation - UB's Center for Student Involvement, spring 2009
Certificate of Appreciation - UB's Academic Resource Center, spring 2008
Certificate of Appreciation - UB's Center for Student Involvement, spring 2008
Certificate of Appreciation - UB's International Services Office, fall 2008
Certificate of Appreciation - Cameroon Association of Active Youths Sport Academy for the Underprivileged, spring 2008
Certificate of Appreciation - UB's Office of Diversity Education & International Services Office, fall 2007