ALTON - Naeem West is a senior at Alton High School. He is incredibly grateful for this honor and recognition as Rotary Student of the Month for October. He also wants to thank all the educators who have encouraged and guided him throughout his life, and he’s, of course, deeply thankful for the unwavering support of his family.
Over the past four years, Naeem has maintained a 4.231 GPA while challenging himself with many rigorous courses. This includes passing six AP classes, six dual credit classes and 18 honors courses. He's also an active member of the National Honor Society and Mu Alpha Theta. Mu Alpha Theta is a math honor society where they tutor other students in mathematics at Alton High. Last year, he was honored by being named Student Athlete of the Month. This recognized his achievements both academically and athletically. Additionally, he received the Academic All-Conference award in 2024.
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Outside the classroom, he is heavily involved in extracurricular activities. He is the president of Alton High's student council. This role oversees all student council matters, including Homecoming, Prom, their special education dance and their annual blood drives. He is a member of Upward Bound, a college preparation program, Link Crew, which is a program for seniors and juniors at Alton high to help guide, mentor and lead Freshman through this new chapter of their lives. He is involved in AACE, which is designated for leaders in athletics. He is a varsity cheerleader and has been the cheer captain for the past two years. Naeem is also a member of the Spanish club.
Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” This quote resonates with him because he loves giving back to the community that has raised him. In high school, Naeem has acquired over 100+ hours of community service. Some of these include volunteering at a nursing home, cheering on participants at the annual sickle cell walk, being a part-time volunteer cheer coach for the Alton middle school cheer team, blood drives, play days with special needs kids, west family nights, trinity festivals, after-school tutoring, pen pals with 3rd graders who are learning to write letters and working with Team Honduras for apple butter making. He is very passionate about volunteering, and he will continue to be committed to helping the community. He also works at Godfrey Park and Recreation. Right now, he is the assistant manager for the corn maze, and he coaches soccer ages 3–5 in their rookie program. Throughout the year, he works in the concession stand, works the score board at basketball games, coaches rookie basketball, baseball and soccer. He also helps with their cheer program. He really loves his job, especially teaching the young kids in the community.
Next year he plans to go to either McKendree University or the University Of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to major in secondary education mathematics. He’s choosing this major because he loves math, and he loves working with kids. After graduation, Naeem plans to return to Alton high school or another title one school to teach to contribute back to the community and education system that he was raised in.
Karly and Naeem received plaques recognizing their achievement from the Alton-Godfrey Rotary Club President, Donna Bemis.
