Sainab is a graduated Senior who aspires to be a doctor, give back to her community, and have dinner with Malala. She will be attending Barnard College in the fall.
Q: What do you like best about Minds Matter?
Sainab: What I like best about Minds Matter is having that support and that network which I‘m really able to benefit from. My school is really small and even though I get that support, Minds Matter is another support system which I can take advantage of. That’s something that is really beneficial because I know people who don’t have that support system at home or even at their school, so Minds Matter has definitely given me the benefit of having that support system.
Also, the Writing and Critical Thinking program has definitely influenced me to become a better writer because my writing skills were not always the best. Having Writing and Critical Thinking has definitely strengthened my writing skills. I’m able to think more analytically, and I’m able to hand in papers where I feel comfortable and I’ve pushed my analytical thinking outside of the box. I recently wrote a mimic piece of ‘Girl’ by Jamaica Kincaid, where she was talking about what she does in her household and she did a Jamaican dialect. I was like, “Ok, I can mimic this into what my mother asks of me in my Nigerian household,” and that piece was really one of my favorite pieces.
Q: Where did you go for your summer program last year? What was the best part about it?
Sainab: Last year I went to Stanford University and that was one of the best experiences ever. It was during the time they had the World Cup so everyone was outside playing soccer, and it was just really open and friendly and at the same time. I was also there for the debates and I took an International Relations course. I’m interested in becoming a doctor and pairing medicine and international affairs together by providing assistance to people that don’t have the adequate medical care. That program gave me the opportunity to learn how global people interact with each other.
Q: What are you planning on studying? Why?
Sainab: I always wanted to become a doctor. I’ve always wanted to provide help to people and be there for them. In order for me to pursue that goal, I would have to major in one of the sciences like Biology or Chemistry. I also have the goal of going to Nigeria where my parents are from and providing people with adequate medical care because I know many third world countries are suffering from lack of medical care. That’s why I’m interested in Doctors Without Borders and that’s where the International Relations come into play. I’m very interested in giving back to the community in any way I can.
Q: If you could have dinner with one famous person, who would it be and why?
Sainab: If I could have dinner with one famous person, I think it would be Malala, because she represents women worldwide. I feel like women do have a voice and we do need to blossom and get out of that hole that society puts us in. And Malala is definitely doing that; she’s definitely fighting for women to be educated and have jobs. So, if I were to have dinner with Malala, I would talk about solutions for us women to be empowered and for us to have a voice in society. Now, if you look at businesses, women are being underrepresented in medicine and it’s mainly males in that field. I would also ask her opinion on how to get women in different job forces to feel represented.
Q: Where do you find your strength?
Sainab: I find my strength in my mom. Just seeing her struggle from when she was in Nigeria and for my family to come to America. In life, education is important for her and she did not fulfill that requirement. So I think of it as a puzzle piece: she makes up all of those components and that one puzzle piece that she is missing is an education. And I know that I can fill in that puzzle piece for her by going to college, by graduating and becoming successful.
Interview by Brittany Crowell, Writing & Critical Thinking Advisor
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