This week’s campus celebrity is the inspiring Noor Shakfa, an aspiring student who in her community is already a celebrity! Noor has been part of the Western community since her first year. Last year she was the representative of the SSC and represented Science and Medical Science students. She then went on to be a part of the USC (University Students Council) as well as ran a campaign to be elected as a USC Science Councilors and won the elections! She is currently also part of the SSC Charity Committee and sits on the Provincial and Federal Affairs Committee as part of her role as Councilor, which deals with university concerns and policies on a higher level. With everything going on, Noor still takes out the time for her family and friends and tries to make the best of her university experience. We definitely need more people like her: inspiring and exceptional.
What made you decide to come to Western?Guess I could say it was the best impulse decision I’ve made! I was always ready to move away for school but the Faculty of Science here at Western is incredible. I think regardless of where I went for university, I was going to do everything in my ability to make the most of the experience. I believe the perfect indicator of how happy you are at the school you chose is when you’re walking around campus and you think to yourself “I couldn’t imagine myself anywhere else;” such a great feeling!
I guess what everyone wants to know is how you balance your school, extra curricular and job all together?Oh boy, well I would be lying if I said I didn’t take a few hits in first year. I was not fully aware of how intense the workload is and I just took as it came. However, second year is much more different than I had anticipated. Although the curriculum is more challenging and dense, I feel more comfortable with my schedule. I’m a strong believer in that staying busy prevents laziness! When I know there is quite a bit on my plate a certain week, be it meetings or events, I try to get ahead or I’m more strict with the time I allow myself to hang-out with. I’m happy to say it all works out in my favour #blessed ;)
What do you aspire to be?My goal is to be accepted to Medical School after I’m done my undergraduate studies here at Western! Once I get to Med School, I feel like I’ll learn so much more about where I want to go in terms of the field of Medicine. Pediatrics has always been of interest to me, as I absolutely love children! I’m sure a lot can agree that Med School is a very competitive and challenging thing to get into, so FEAR NOT; I have a plan B! I’ll also be applying for a masters program in Physiology here at Western as well.
What has by far been your most memorable experience since you started?This is such a hard question! Well, I think I’ve turned all the experiences I’ve made here at Western into good ones. I think all my involvement on the Science Students’ Council here at Western has created the longest lasting impact on me. All the memories throughout the last year and a half have been some of the funniest and greatest moments of my life. I’ll forever be grateful for the friendships I’ve made here.
Do you have a place where you go to just get away from your busy timetable and just relax?I don’t really have a certain place, but my job provides such an incredible outlet for me to relax, see my incredible fellow employees and get out of the study zone! I also love to run! Although sometimes I have very long days on campus, I try my hardest to get out and go for a jog every little while; it works wonders!
Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now?Wait, so how old will that make me? 29? I want to say that I’ll finally be done my schooling at that point, I hope -.-! I want to have a partner, moved into a nice place and finally have my career started somewhere at a hospital. I would like to think I’m content with where I am at age 29, and OHHH, I want to have done some travelling before then! I’d like to see the charity event that I work with, The Barefoot Walk, grow to huge proportions and begin to bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for charities worldwide. I guess at 29 I’ll start worrying about the fact that I’m going to be 30 the following year haha, MY GOSH, how will I look at 30? Or act? It’s quite a ways away!
HC Quiz:
Role Model: HUNDRED PERCENT my mom… what a perfect human being.
Favourite Celebrity: Ed Sheeran
One word that describes your personality: Passionate
Dream Job: Is it acceptable to say “to save lives”? I want to feel the rush of being put under pressure and stress but to see it pay off afterwards! I love public speaking as well, so long as people are laughing and feel moved by it, public speaking has always been intriguing to me!
If you could meet someone famous who would it be: Sandra Bullock and/or Beyoncé
Guilty Pleasure: The rainbow candy strips – truth be told I’ve finished a whole pack on one sitting way too many times.
Pet Peeve: When people aggressively poke my dimples and people that are too serious.
An interesting fact about you that not many people know: I write spoken word poetry, lots of it! I guess it’s an alternative to writing in a diary, but sometimes I even get to preform in front of others, which is such an exciting thing to me. I also LOVE to act, I dropped it many years ago, but I thoroughly enjoy acting!