Spotlight on Iman Yousuf
Iman Yousuf, a third-year undergraduate University of Toronto Scarborough student currently completing a double major in neuroscience and molecular biology, immunology, and disease, recently joined the Community of Support (COS).
Yousuf has found that the support provided by the COS has boosted her confidence. “It really feels as though there are people that believe in you,” she says. She affirms that COS has given her support she might not otherwise have had. “It’s sometimes hard because I don't have those same connections to those people in the medical field or well-connected individuals that can provide valuable information about opportunities that exist. I was always told that I would have to work hard to achieve my goals. The COS program makes me feel like I am worth it,” she says. “It’s just a great feeling.”
Through COS Yousuf received the opportunity to conduct research at the Centre for Integrative Medicine (CIM) at the Scarborough Hospital. As a research assistant, Yousuf is developing surveys to help the CIM gain information about the different complementary and alternative therapies used by patients. She is also currently conducting a literature review on the effect of acupuncture on patients with diabetic neuropathy.
Yousuf plans on spreading the word to other students who might benefit from membership. “I wish I had known that the COS program existed when I was in first year, because, starting off in university you sometimes get overwhelmed with the work and you sometimes lose sight of your goals. I want to let people know that programs like this do exist.”
See the Community of Support helps Black students develop their potential as future health professionals.
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