JEDDAH – It would not be fair to simply call Vaseem Lathief an intelligent boy because he has been proved a student leader par excellence. The head boy of International Indian School-Jeddah (IISJ) will soon be stepping out of the school campus, leaving behind an excellent track record of a model student with high caliber. Lathief's cupboard at home displays an array of medals and trophies and plethora of certificates, proving his excellence in curricular and co-curricular activities, for being a topper and best speaker of the school many a time, editor, sports champion, a great student leader, among others. The talented, young lad now plans to touch the space. He aspires to become a space scientist and pursue a career at the prestigious Indian Space Research Organization. School principal of IISJ Syed Masood Ahmed, whom Lathief considers as a mentor, said: “Vaseem Lathief is a highly resourceful and adaptable student who has immense potential and high caliber in both curricular as well as co-curricular fields. His demeanor and deportment is commendable and that makes him win the heart of his teachers and friends. He is very diligent, dedicated and determined. Vaseem has outstanding leadership quality. I have very high expectations in him.” Perhaps, it is a coincidence that the podium for the last manifestation of his “talent show” was the first rostrum from where he climbed ladders of excellence – the auditorium of IISJ boy's section. His fabulous farewell speech was received a thunderous applause from the packed auditorium at the annual graduation ceremony held few weeks ago. In the presence of more than 2500 people, including distinguished guests, parents, teachers and batch mates, Lathief said: “It was on this very stage I spoke in front of a huge crowd for the first time. It was on this podium that I learnt how to face a gathering. It was this very auditorium that brought out the courage in me by which I can stand and speak today. And today, I can't believe that I'm giving my last official speech in this auditorium…” His speech evoked intense feelings for IISJ and friendship. “The other day, one of my friends who had left to India after completing his grade 10 returned after two months. I asked him, why did you return? I remember what he told me. ‘I could not adjust there. There is nothing compared to IISJ.'” The speech, which was greeted by a standing ovation from the audience, was the best illustration of a talented student leader's sharp witted observations, perceptions, and reflections. “We are going to miss the PT (physical training) periods which ended so fast unlike science periods which seemed never ending... It was only this year, when we IISJ seniors went on to represent the basketball, volleyball and football teams at the National level for the first time in History...,” said Lathief. Number of pages could be filled if one had to pen Lathief's overall achievements. He was one of the toppers in CBSE grade 10 board examination, and secured the first position in grades 2, 3, 5 and 8. He has also bagged several prizes in elocution and debate competitions, including first best speaker awards for Kingdom-wide Inter-school Debate -2009, Interschool elocution competitions conducted by Jeddah Urdu Academy and ISPAF, English elocution in grades 7 and 8, and school debates in grades 8 and 9 classes. He secured the first position in the Qur'an recitation competition held in IISJ. He was the second best speaker in Hindi in grade 8. Vaseem edited his class magazine called “Aspiring Anecdote” for grades 6-8 students. He also played a role in the short film titled “Good Friend – A Hug from God” directed by another outgoing student Mohammed Azhar Ponnani. He was the second runner-up in the competition “Most Talented,” conducted by the Jeddah chapter of Muslim Service Society. His charismatic leadership skills played a role in making the school youth festival a resounding success. He also played a substantial role in making the Poor Students Fund, an initiative to help the financially weak students of the school, an exemplary experiment. Apart from academic and artistic fields, Lathief also proved his talent in sports and games. He represented IISJ four times at the cluster meet Badminton Championship. He was the individual sports champion in grade 4 and a chess champion in grade 7. He was the first general captain of Jeddah Talent Teens, and a member of Sporting United Jeddah, a soccer club for teens.
