TFS - Canada's International School

DESTINATION / DESTINATION Stanford University PROGRAMME / PROGRAM Bioengineering DIBA D. Heading to the Top Coming to TFS in Grade 5, Emma developed into an exceptional student and a skilled athlete. A member of the swim, track and badminton teams, a Diba may be young, but she is already a lifelong learner, enterprising innovator and scientific trailblazer. All this, and she also kept up her involvement in a wide range of co-curriculars while at TFS. An oboist with the senior wind ensemble, head of the Classics club, a peer mentor and a middle school transition leader, Diba believes the activities she participated in were an adventure, and they all led to forming an array of insights that she makes use of today. In Level II, Diba joined DECA, an organization that helps prepare emerging leaders and entrepreneurs for post-secondary education and careers. This turned out to be a pivotal experience for her. She won the marketing category at the provincial level and qualified for the internationals. It was here that Diba grew her entrepreneurial and innovative skills, and the organization provided an opportunity for her to intersect technology with science, two of her favourite academic subjects. Through DECA, Diba was introduced to The Knowledge Society's (TKS) 10-month program for high school students. TKS allowed her to expand on her love of discovery and become acquainted with emerging technologies. She also learned to foster an enterprising mindset that was fundamental to her growth as well as soft skills such as networking and independence. "It wasn't scientists teaching us specific things; it was them teaching us how to figure things out on our own and build that sort of entrepreneurial outlook to develop solutions to help other people," she said. TFS 17 DESTINATION / DESTINATION Northwestern University PROGRAMME / PROGRAM Biological Sciences EMMA N. middle school transition leader for two years, a volunteer for the homework club, a tutor in Level III and part of the senior wind ensemble from Levels I to III, Emma maintained a disciplined approach to school. Soon after she arrived at TFS, Emma also took up a unique sport: fencing. "At first I didn't like it because it was 'violent,' but eventually it grew into this hobby that was beneficial for my mental and physical health, academically as well," she said. Emma devoted her passion and energy towards the sport and now competes for Team Canada, placing in the top percentile of the International Fencing Federation. Getting into an unconventional sport like this one developed her confidence and willingness to try the unfamiliar. At the same time, being in a bilingual school helped her in the fencing world: "I can understand people from other countries and make a lot of global connections that I wouldn't be able to if I didn't speak French." Emma didn't think she was going to follow the path of medicine or pre- medical studies, but she is now majoring in biological sciences at Northwestern University and is interested in using this opportunity to combine her athletically oriented mind with her interests in certain branches of the field, such as neuroscience and kinesiology. Emma chose Northwestern so that she could stay relatively close to home but at the same time practise with the university's varsity fencing team. And she knows she will be surrounded by a positive atmosphere. "When I visited, I talked to the coach and asked about the training schedule and how I would be able to balance academics, and it was clear I would be supported there," she said. While in the US, Emma wants to clear more time out of her training schedule to pick up playing instruments for a band again. She also has her eyes set on the top, hoping to represent Canada in fencing at the 2028 Olympics. With that goal in mind, Diba kickstarted two groundbreaking research projects, fuelled by the skills learned from attending various conferences and hackathons. These projects focused on developing non-hormonal male contraception and anti-HIV drugs. "I trained machine learning models to identify drugs for HIV, and I ended up finding this diabetes drug that could be repurposed. I then got invited to speak at a conference hosted by InvestorBrandNetwork, all of which put me on the journey to create male contraceptives." With her favourite subjects being biology and geography, Diba finds purpose in both when dealing with problems impacting people's lives. "With geography, there are things like demographics, how simple policies can change the economy of a country, the stability and more. It was such a fundamental part of human studies; it affects everything," she said. Diba is now studying bioengineering at Stanford University, in the heart of Silicon Valley. With a solid understanding of five languages, a robust portfolio of scientific knowledge, and the determination to advocate for her research, Diba wants to grow into a scientist and physician who combines medicine with technology to address social problems such as gender equity and aging, and always puts people at the centre of whatever she does.

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