Lani Rose R Dizon
Afra Banu Shaikh Aslan, 22-year-old Indian expatriate and 4th year medical student at Newcastle University
“Since we started clinical years we do go to hospitals a lot and we get to see patients, so we get to integrate our knowledge from our pre-clinical years like textbook and websites into actual like applying it in real life. And learning from patients’ personal experiences as well has helped shape my whole perspective on medicine being more catered towards patients and people rather than just seeing them as textbook patients.
And maybe some of the lessons I’ve learned would be that not everything is what you expect when you go in, like every person is different, and everyone has their own problems apart from their medical issues they may also be experiencing social issues, and other personal issues that also needs to be addressed. I think for personal growth, I’ve learned to be a lot more assertive and a lot more confident in what I’m doing. I think as a student you’re more likely to feel as an imposter. But I think that just comes with a lot of experience.
In 2025, I hope to build my knowledge more as a growth, rather than just pursuing medicine, I also like to engage into my other interests and hobbies. I really love to paint, and I have not found a lot of time last year to do that, but hopefully in 2025 I can work more on that. And probably balance my work life a lot more. Have more time for my friends and other, like social events”.
Mariam Mohamed, 23-year-old Egyptian expatriate and 4th year medical student at Newcastle University
“I would say one of the biggest achievements is making it this far in medical school. I’m in 4th year, so Inshallah, next year we’re done. I think mainly that’s a big achievement. Another achievement besides academics I would say is personal growth, whether spiritually, like getting closer to my religion, maybe trying to strengthen my ties, because we live outside of Qatar, so we live away from our family. So strengthening our ties with our family, our friends, trying to balance both: academics and our social life.
Being in clinical years, you get to see people in a different light. You learn that not everything is guaranteed. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. You live in the moment. And you need to understand that at any moment, anything could be taken away from you. Today you’re healthy, and tomorrow you might not be. Going to hospitals and seeing patients gave me insights into appreciating the days that I have, living everyday as it goes by.
Inshallah, in academics we make it through the last year. And then outside academics, there’s always growth in other aspects in life, there’s always growth in our religion. Again, balancing out between our social life, getting closer to things I may have neglected like maybe my physical health. I want to be more active, like more outdoors instead of just studying all day or things like that. So I think that’s one of the goals I want to have outside of my academics. To take care of my health as well; mental health, physical health, spiritual health, all of that”.
Zara Ivani Stellwag, 18-year-old US-Singaporean expatriate and grade XII student at Doha British School
“In 2024, I have made a lot of plants, I’ve grown a lot of like tomatoes, and everything. I love to do agriculture. And another achievement is I’ve been designing a website for nursing research. It’s basically a journal that collects research from different universities. And I’ve been studying hard for my final exams, and I’m kinda stressed about that. But I know I got this.
This year was pretty rough, with a lot of lessons being learned. I’ve had to persevere through like a lot. It was really a rough year for me, especially with my results (academics) they weren’t so good. But I know I got this.
Next year, I’m going to do a course in nursing, and I’m really excited. Because I have high hopes for the next year. Everything’s set. I just need a way to be accepted. I know I got this, and locked in.
Future hopes for 2025, I’m trying to hit the gym. I want to be stronger, and I want to continue doing martial arts. I love doing martial arts. I’m doing this thing called mixed martial arts where we do like gymnastics and MMA together”.
Leen Krimly, 17-year-old Syrian expatriate and 13th grade student at Belgravia High School
“I think definitely my academic achievements, because I went from D in Chemistry to achieving As. So I think definitely it would be my grades. I used to not really have good grades in Year 12, but I improved a lot in Year 13. Basically when I was in Year 12, I had a lot of tutors for my subject, but I kind of thought that if I had a tutor, I will just rely on that and that will guarantee me to get good grades. But then I realized that’s not the case. Because I didn’t get good grades at the end. So I didn’t get any tutors this year. So I self-studied everything, from A to Z, and did a lot of pass papers.
This year, I feel like I’ve learned a lot how to communicate and talk to people and make new friends, and be like less socially awkward I guess.
My future hopes is to also achieve better grades and stuff. Hopefully in every subject. Also, because I’m a musician I like to make music. I hope that I can profit from it one day. I make music beats, I’m a producer. So I hope one day that I can find a singer or a rapper who I can make beats for them. I have been making music since I was 12. It has always been a passion for me, but I never took advantage of it really. I hope to do that soon”.