This article is part of a series focusing on the grads of the Dalhousie Class of 2024. Spring Convocation runs from May 21 to 31 in Halifax and Truro. Read all our profiles here in one place as they are published, and for more information visit the Convocation website.
While her four years at Dal have been full of academic and extracurricular highlights, Aaliyah Arab-Smith is confident her fondest memory will be from something that has not happened yet. Having started university during the pandemic, she can’t wait to cross the Dalhousie Arts Centre stage Friday afternoon in front of her family now that “COVID can’t take that away from us.”
Graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Medical Sciences and a certificate in Science Communication and Leadership, Aaliyah’s walk across the stage will mark the end of one journey but the beginning of another as she sets her sights on medical school while being a role model in the African Nova Scotian community.
Staying busy
Born in Halifax with roots in North Preston and Africville, Aaliyah says she was drawn to the Medical Sciences program because of the possible career paths it could lead to, namely becoming a doctor and making a difference in her community. “I heard how challenging it is, but also all the great things that can come out of it,” she says.
Following Convocation, she will spend her days studying for the MCAT and Casper tests with an eye on the 2024-25 admission cycle to medical school (“I’d love to be back at Dal,” she notes) while also working in the community with One North End and its African Nova Scotian Employment Lab initiative. Time will also be carved out for what friends call her “side quests,” which include creative interests such as modelling.
Keeping busy isn’t anything new for Aaliyah. She played on the varsity basketball team before switching to track and field, becoming a three-time Academic All-Canadian in the process. “There are a lot of transferable skills I’ve learned through sports, like teamwork and self-discipline,” she says.
Becoming a leader
As a student at King’s-Edgehill School, Aaliyah addressed her graduating class in 2020 with a speech centred around anti-Black racism. She has continued to use her voice, co-teaching a First-Year Interest Group (FIG) called “Science for Everyone” as part of her certificate in Science Communication and Leadership. Teaching the FIG allowed her to mentor younger students who may not always have had peers resembling them to look up to. Hard work behind the scenes saw the FIG grow into the Dalhousie Science Scholars and Leaders Society, which was ratified last fall and aims to empower and support traditionally underrepresented science students.
Aaliyah says the certificate served as a perfect complement to her degree, “bringing together my passion for the community with my passion for science.”
Her extracurricular commitments meant that grades weren’t always the top priority, but she is confident that medical schools will recognize “the impact you’re making outside of the classroom is more important and longer lasting.”
Her contributions at Dal certainly did not go unnoticed. “Aaliyah is one of those students that just stand out,” says Dr. Leanne Stevens, the Faculty of Science’s associate dean academic and Aaliyah’s instructor in a science communication course. “She is exceptionally insightful, committed to her community, kind, a fantastic team player, and a leader amongst her peers.”
Community impact
Having been taught little about the Black experience in school before coming to Dal, Aaliyah valued the chance to take a selective course called Centring Black Canadian Health as part of the Medical Sciences program.
“It was filled with different students, many that looked like me, and others that didn’t but were looking to learn,” she says. “As a Black Nova Scotian, it was great to reflect and learn more of an Africentric approach to health, which we don’t really get within the other core courses.”
Aaliyah feels the course should be mandatory for aspiring medical professionals.
“When you’re dealing with patients from different backgrounds, you want to make sure that you have cultural humility and are open to ongoing learning,” she says.
The possibility of one day entering a field lacking representation from Black Nova Scotians doesn’t faze her. “Members of our community may feel unseen or unheard at times, but I want to take advantage of the personal lived experiences I have to help change people’s lives,” she says.
Like Aaliyah’s best memory from her time at Dal, it’s safe to say her biggest impact is yet to come.
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