Student Vignettes
Sila Rogan is a 4th year UBC student studying genetics and physiology. A proud Inuk, Sila is passionate about increasing access to high quality health care, especially for rural and Indigenous communities, and has worked with Grand Challenges Canada’s Indigenous Innovation Initiative and the Canadian Society for Circumpolar Health to advance these causes. An advocate for engaging youth and communities in health care, Sila is a member of the Prime Minister’s Youth Council and interned at the Ontario Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health. In her free time, Sila enjoys baking and trail running.
Louloua Ashikhusein is an undergraduate student studying Biology and Psychology at the University of British Columbia. As a Research Assistant with the Rural Evidence Review project, her responsibilities include conducting outreach to rural communities in BC and communicating with them regarding their health service priorities, as well as assisting with literature reviews and primary research tasks that aim to improve knowledge about and distribution of health services for rural communities in BC. This objective complements her passion to work in the healthcare field, which stems from her interest in raising awareness regarding the importance of physical and mental well-being and her experiences working alongside vulnerable populations in Tanzania. Her hobbies are reading Novels, trying out new restaurants and watching ‘Friends’ on a loop.
Urvee Karve is an undergraduate student at UBC majoring in Geography (Environment and Sustainability). She is really interested in contributing to the new GIS project to build catchment maps for rural BC and understanding how this could better rural health. Since she is passionate about sustainability, she wants to help better the quality of life in rural BC by understanding more about rural health and the availability of high quality facilities, as well as their sphere of influence. Other than her passion for Geography, she volunteers at BC SPCA (animal shelter), and enjoy activities such as hiking, painting and dancing.
Abdo Souraya is a UBC alumnus with a BSc Global Resource Systems, specializing in nutrition and food security. A born and raised city dweller, Abdo was newly exposed to rural settings while studying in rural Holland, subsequently choosing to stay with family in a small agricultural village in Lebanon. Learning about rural-urban inequities through narrative immersion helped Abdo develop an interest in rural health, and gives perspective to his research assistant role on the RSON evaluation project. In his free time, Abdo enjoys listening to music, reading, travelling, and meditation.
Careers