Aiah S. Nour
2022 Hoyas for Science Recipient
M.S. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
To be an effective leader or impactful member of your community (especially marginalized communities), you must be able to understand the needs of your community and turn that understanding into action.
About Aiah
Aiah S. Nour is from Lincoln, Nebraska. Before coming to Georgetown Biomedical Graduate Education, Aiah earned a bachelor’s in Biochemistry from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Why did you choose Biomedical Graduate Education at Georgetown University?
I have always had a deep love of life science, and more recently, I have realized my passion for leadership and advocacy. Georgetown seems like the perfect place for these passions to merge. BGE at Georgetown not only emphasizes a quality education with experienced and talented professors, but also an interdisciplinary emphasis on applying knowledge to better the community around us. My interest in research is not only rooted in scientific problem-solving and curiosity, but also in the potential to change lives. I admire Georgetown for being an institution that values community influence and meaningful impact along with academic rigor.
What do you hope to accomplish here at Georgetown and/or what is your interest in biomedical research or graduate studies?
My long-term goal is to become a physician. Through BGE at Georgetown, I am able to solidify my scientific foundation, as well as discover my research interests. Being heavily involved in research throughout my undergraduate education, I would like to continue discovering the vast research disciplines available in biochemistry, neuroscience, oncology, etc., that Georgetown has to offer. My ultimate goal is to incorporate lab work into patient outcomes, and through my education here at Georgetown, I am able to home in on my specific interests, as well as prepare myself for becoming a physician.
What is your life motto for overcoming challenges and/or supporting diversity and cultural understanding?
In undergrad, I was involved in student government, and this experience was likely the most formative of my young adulthood. Throughout it, one concept got me through the challenging moments of leading a student body while going through a pandemic and the plague of systemic racism. To be an effective leader or impactful member of your community (especially marginalized communities), you must be able to understand the needs of your community and turn that understanding into action. The future of diversity, equity, and inclusion depends on this concept, and only when leaders manifest this are communities able to be adequately represented and fought for.
Is there anything else that you would like to share?
I am in an incredibly privileged position to not only be able to continue my education at Georgetown, but also be awarded this scholarship. I am here not only through my labor, but the labor of the people that have made me: my parents, my siblings, my friends, my community back home in Sudan, and the professors and mentors I have had. Thank you to all who have cultivated my ending up here. Thank you, BGE, for investing in my success.