My name is Fariah Mahmood and I am a sophomore Biology major. I am an intern with HCMP, and am also involved in the Aptamers lab and Silk Club.
Describe a shadowing experience that has impacted you the most:
I really enjoyed being able to shadow Dr. Newsha Lajevardi and expose myself to the world of dermatology through an online shadowing program that the HCMP directors found for us to remain as safe as possible throughout the pandemic. I’ve always found dermatology incredibly interesting and even though it was online, I still feel as though I was able to learn a TON from that video session alone. This experience reminded me of the value of tenacity in pursuing your dreams (since dermatology is a more competitive specialty), the importance of doing things on your own time, and the importance of being a lifelong learner since the field of medicine is everchanging and innovation and medicine go hand in hand.
How has HCMP benefited your professional or individual goals?
I’m the first one in my family to go into medicine, so the path hasn’t been the clearest for me. I’ve found that HCMP has answered a bunch of my questions and provided me a better understanding of what I need to do moving forward to be a better premed and best prepare myself to be a future healthcare provider overall.
What has been your favorite aspect of HCMP?
I’ve really loved the community! Everyone has been so welcoming and kind. It’s really comforting to know that there’s a space where I can go to ask questions and have a community of likeminded individuals that I can bounce my ideas off of which allows us all to grow to become better individuals overall.
What do you like to do in your free time?
I really love making/playing music! I’ve been singing since I was three and play a couple of string instruments nowadays. I’m looking up pick up piano within soon, but that first means learning how to even read music written in bass clef.