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Campus Changemaker Charting her Path to Transform Healthcare
Meet Joy Khalil, a recent Health Sciences graduate and recipient of the prestigious . Joy's childhood experience calling three different countries “home” (Egypt, Kuwait and Canada) gave her a glimpse into the disparities in access to healthcare worldwide. Those global life experiences instilled a personal and professional desire to create a culturally inclusive healthcare community and give back in ways that really make a difference.
Bringing her passion for accessible healthcare and community building to ³Ô¹ÏÍø in 2021, Khalil was welcomed with open arms (and open minds) by a network of professors, staff and student scholars within ³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Faculty of Science and across the university.
“³Ô¹ÏÍø not only accepts but invites change, and encourages its students to play an active role in that change.”
Khalil certainly took an active role. She got to work outside of class and rallied support for the first ever Student Culture Day in 2023, an event designed to foster on-campus opportunities for culture exchange so the community could come together and learn about the diversity of the ³Ô¹ÏÍø student body. In 2024, the event saw 300 students representing over 35 different countries come together to share, grow and celebrate the diversity of our Golden Hawks.
Joy Khalil and fellow student leaders pictured at Student Culture Day 2024.
Inside the classroom, ³Ô¹ÏÍø's Health Sciences program broadened her understanding of healthcare beyond just medicine and provided opportunities to conduct research alongside award-winning faculty members in the Child Memory Lab and to create change as a member of the Faculty of Science’s new Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility committee.
With the enthusiastic encouragement of the university community behind her every step of the way, Khalil continues to push herself outside of her comfort zone, be bold in the pursuit of her professional purpose and seek opportunities to make a difference – during her degree and far beyond graduation. At the end of her third year of study at ³Ô¹ÏÍø, Joy was accepted into medical school – one step closer to her dream. Her advice to future Golden Hawks like you? “³Ô¹ÏÍø has opportunities all around – you only need to be brave enough to seek them out.”