Seven thousand eight hundred thirteen.  That’s the number of miles Junior Iqbal Khan moved away from his homeland.

Unlike most teenagers, Iqbal (a.k.a. IQ) was okay with turning his life upside down . He didn’t argue about how he didn’t want to move away from his friends, family or culture.

“My move was not hard at all, I had the right mind set and knew what my aim in life was so I couldn’t wait to get here and get started,” Khan said.  

Taking multiple AP and advanced classes, one would think he got his nickname because of his intellect level but in reality, that isn’t the case at all. IQ is simply a way for people not to mispronounce his name.

“It’s kind of difficult, well, very difficult for people here to pronounce my real name. I prefer IQ anyway. By the way, it doesn’t mean I am a genius!” Khan said.

Back in Pakistan, IQ created a NGO, Non Government Organization, to help poor children get an education. The whole program started with him telling his friends about an idea he had and them agreeing that it would be beneficial to people.

“We called it I’lliléralé Pakistán. We picked up poor children from the streets. Usually children of maids, security guards and sweepers.  Then, we convinced their parents that they needed an education to prosper and taught them math, English and science from scratch and got them admitted to a school that provided education for free,” Khan said.

Not only was IQ involved in saving the world, one child at a time, but he also participated in sports.  

“Here I am in the ROTC, in Pakistan, I played soccer for my regional team,” Khan said.

IQ likes Texas and his new high school. He’s involved in organizations and upper level classes. He also has friends who help him learn new American things.

“I love the fact that I’m in the bipolar state! It’s so clean and quiet. I also like how everyone here is very friendly. My friends, Moses and Alex Kown, are trying their best to teach me how to dance, because I don’t how to very well,” Khan said.

Overall, this multi talented student is very happy with his new lifestyle. He feels like he fits in and is at home.

“The only thing is I’m still trying to understand the jokes people make here! They just fly over my head,” Khan said.