About myself.
I grew up in a one bedroom flat in London England. My parents slept on the bottom bed, my sister on the bunk above,
and my twin brother and I on the bunk above that. I lived like this until I reached the age of eight. My parents
would tell us month-long stories of The Odyssey, Moby Dick, The Laughing Man. As a family we became incredibly
close – a bond that has remained with us.
My dad was a poet and social worker, my mom was an architect – I believe I got my work ethic and logical side from
my mom. But my compassionate, my empathetic side from my dad – he taught me how to express myself, connect with
people.
I moved to Toronto when I was 8 years old. There I attended two privates schools: Crescent School and Greenwood
College School. I was always very active in school and the community, playing on many sports teams – from soccer,
to hockey, to rugby. Sports have always been important to me as an outlet to release energy and cope with stress
of my studies. It also instilled in me essential skills like – dedication to developing a skill, and how to work
in a team.
The high school I attended (Greenwood) incorporated outdoor exploration trips into its curriculum. We were given
the opportunity to do canoe trips in Algonquin Park, dog sledding trips during the winter, mountain-hiking trips in
the Canadian Rockies, and kayaking trips in the Pacific Ocean. It was during these trips that I learned to pitch
tents, portage a canoe, cook over a fire, sleep outside in 10 Fahrenheit weather. I’ve always been passionate
about the outdoors – being in nature allows me to relax and appreciate everything in my life; I live a very active
lifestyle, and most of these activities revolve around be being outdoors; running, sailing, kayaking, snowboarding
.
In high school I taught children with mental and physical disabilities how to ski and snowboard. This was a really
powerful experience for me. It was so rewarding being able to teach children with disabilities to learn a skill
that I was so passionate about myself. They had come into this world with such significant disadvantages; they
faced so many hardships in their lives. It felt great knowing that I could provide them with so much joy.
I completed my undergraduate degree at Western University, where I persued an Honours specialization in Psychology
degree. This is where I developed an interest in the brain and started taking as many neuroscience courses as I
could. In my final year, I was able to conduct research during my final year with one of my neuroscience
professors.
One of my favourite authors I was exposed to during my psychology courses was Oliver Sacks. The fact he was a
doctor played a large role in motivating me to apply to medical school. I liked how medicine combines an
intellectually stimulating career with an opportunity to help people. I had two friends who were at Medical
University of the America’s and they encouraged me to apply. I got accepted & I decided to partake in the next big
adventure of my life.
When I entered medical school – apart from trying to do as well as I could in my courses – I played an active role
in my school community. I was part of the student government association for my whole time in basic
sciences. Class president twice, and then served on the executive board in various positions.
I also started producing and selling school branded clothing – which I along with my sales team – sold to students
of our school. All our profits we gave to the student government association. These endeavours were meaningful
to me because they allowed me to help build a sense of community at our school and help generate a sense of school
spirit among the student population.
One of my most proud accomplishments was founding a peer tutoring service to provide students in lower years with
additional resources to succeed in their courses. My brother makes websites, and he was able to build a website
for me which allowed students to easily request tutorial sessions. I was also a teaching assistant for
microbiology and neuroscience.
Teaching is something is very important to me and I extremely enjoy. When you master a concept and you’re able to
teach that concept to someone else who is struggling to grasp – it’s so rewarding. This passion is something I
will definitely bring with me throughout residency – whether it’s teaching patients, medical students, other
residents, or colleagues.
I also managed to maintain an active and adventurous lifestyle throughout medical school – I competed in a marathon
on the island, a swimming competition, and even a sailing race. I hiked the islands volcano & went scuba
diving. My years on the island are some of my fondest.
During my clinical rotations I was fortunate enough to train in a wide variety of environments, in 2 different
healthcare systems: the United States and Canada. I travelled to Miami, New Orleans, New York, Atlanta, Hamilton
(Ontario), Montreal, and Toronto. I worked in environments ranging from small community hospitals in Louisiana, to
large academic centres such as Mount Sinai in New York. I completed two family medicine rotations at McGill
University and the University of Toronto, both of which shaped my passion for the field of family medicine.
I received my medical degree in June 2018 and was awarded the Dean of Clinical Medicine Award at graduation for my
academic performance.