it's just me against the world...

Brief Background

Hi! Want to know about me, eh? I'm an American-born Malaysian. My full name is Abd-Allah Muhammad Abdul Karim. Pretty long, huh? My nickname is 'abli'. Why? Ask my mom. I was born on the 13th of June, 1979, in Madison, Wisconsin. I'm the oldest am ong six children. My family lives in Taman Setapak Indah, Kuala Lumpur.

I graduated from Maktab Rendah Sains Mara Kuantan or Mara Junior Science College Kuantan. Class of '96 (high school). Now I'm a sophomore at the University of Florida. I'm majoring in Electrical & Computer Engineerin g. It's a dual degree (BSEE & BSCEN) offered by the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department.

Where am I staying? Good question. I'm renting a room at the Islamic Center of Gainesville (masjid). It's not that bad actually. It's only a few blocks off campus.

I'm the oldest among six children. My siblings are all in school with the youngest in second grade. Both my mom and dad are American grads. My dad, Abdul Karim Abdul Ghani is a botanist. He teaches at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. My mom, Rosnani Hashim is also an educator, teaching at the International Islamic University of Malaysia.

Education Background

Level of EducationThe SchoolYear
ElementarySekolah Kebangsaan Ampangan, Seremban. 1986-87
Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Bandar Baru Bangi 1988-89
Lincoln Middle School, Gainesville. 1989-93
SecondaryEastside High School, Gainesville. 1993-94
Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Gombak Setia 1994-95
MRSM Kuantan 1995-96
VarsityMCC Kuantan1997
University of Florida1997-???

Based on my TOEFL and SAT results which I took after taking the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (Malaysian Certificate of Education) examinations, I was accepted by all three universities that I listed down. They were Northern Illinois University (where my mom got her bachelor degree), Purdue University, and University of Florida (where my mom got her PhD). No offense, but I chose UF because they offered the lowest tuition fees among those three colleges. Plus, I love the Gators. Before coming to the States in Summer 97, I finished a semester (Spring 97) at Mara Community College Kuantan as a Mechanical Engineering major. I enrolled in UF as a Mechanical Engineering major, but later switched to Electrical & Computer Engineering because the information technology industry in Malaysia is really booming, compared to the auto industry.