2025 Hoyas for Science Recipient
M.S. in Systems Medicine with Concentration in Applied AI in Systems Medicine
I believe in the importance of community when navigating hardship; you have to allow others to pour into you and lean on support when you need it.
About Ayah
Ayah is from Washington, D.C. Before coming to Georgetown Biomedical Graduate Education, Ayah earned a B.S. in Human Health Performance and Leisure with a Concentration in Sports Medicine from Howard University.
How do you approach challenges in your life?
I approach challenges in my life with the guidance of a Sudanese proverb my grandmother would always tell me: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others.” I believe in the importance of community when navigating hardship; you have to allow others to pour into you and lean on support when you need it. Allowing yourself the opportunity to view your situation from a different perspective can make all the difference.
What is your academic focus? What sparked your interest in it?
In communities like the one I grew up in, trust plays a significant role. A common theme in immigrant communities is relying on people that members of the community vouch for.
My earliest memory of going to the doctor was when I was about six. My brothers and I had a bad cough, and a friend of my father recommended a local clinic that accepted walk-ins. I remember peering out the window of the doctor’s office, watching my dad anxiously wait by the phone, hoping his supervisor would approve his request for a day off. Inside the clinic, the scene was the same – anxious parents in uniforms, soothing their sick children while nervously checking the time.
As a child, I saw that day as a break from school. As an adult, I now realize the weight of that moment. For our parents, taking us to the doctor wasn’t just about addressing our health – it was a financial burden. Missing a workday meant a shorter paycheck, which came with difficult decisions. In communities where many live paycheck to paycheck, choosing between healthcare and meeting basic needs is a painful reality.
These experiences have deeply influenced my drive to become a physician who not only provides comprehensive care but also advocates for equitable healthcare and works to address the systemic barriers that disadvantaged populations face. A tiny fraction of physicians in the United States are Black Muslim women. I would like to be one of the women to make the percentage increase.
What motivates you?
I am the proud child of two Sudanese immigrants, with generations of women before me who never had the opportunities I do. My grandmother painted a picture of her life for me: In a different time, oceans apart, she slyly leaned to press her ear to the clay walls of her neighborhood secondary school – a school she was unable to attend. Yet her unquenchable thirst for knowledge trickled down to my mother, the first woman in her family to pursue higher education, and now to me, as I follow in her footsteps. My motivation stems from all the women before me whose potential was capped by circumstance.
What advice would you give to future BGE students?
For future BGE students, I would advise taking full advantage of all the resources the university has to offer. Use your time at Georgetown to connect with faculty and other students, attend panels – do as much as you can within the time you have to maximize your connections.