TFS - Canada's International School

person, Peter told me his times at TFS had a solid academic structure, but the defining feature for him was his friends. He continues to remain in contact with many of his close- knit group of friends eight years after graduation. "TFS provided me with a strong social network," he told me, saying he made some memories that wouldn't be soon forgotten. "The environment TFS gave us was instrumental in the closeness of our group," he explains, a sentiment that still holds true today. He also notes that he's aware he's changed considerably since his time at TFS. "I've gained perspective that comes with age and the opportunity to reflect on both the things I have achieved and the mistakes I made while I was there." He goes on to say that, "I recognize now that the teachers and the community at TFS definitely encouraged the idea that I could achieve anything academically if I wanted to. The opportunity to be in an environment that actually fostered that type of self-belief was a great privilege. I don't think I really understood just how privileged I was at the time." "What can we do, in terms of awareness and public policy, to prevent and/or contain widespread problems on both a local and global platform?" Irina Lut's journey has taken many different twists and turns. Born in Romania, she moved to Toronto when she was five years old and came to TFS in Grade 7. "My parents studied French when they were in school, and even before I went to TFS I attended a public French immersion elementary school," she explains. "I think the French component of it was quite important to them, so from elementary school, they always wanted me to learn another language." Ms. Lut always had a passion for medicine, up until her final year of her undergrad at Boston University, where she discovered the public health sector through one of her professors. "I wasn't familiar with public health as a field, and I never realized how multidisciplinary it is," she shares. "In clinical medicine, when a doctor sees a patient with an existing issue, they diagnose accordingly. Public health looks at the issue from a population perspective. We analyze the scenario on a larger scale and ask ourselves, 'what can we do, in terms of awareness and public policy, to prevent and/or contain widespread problems on both a local and global platform?'" Irina found the approach of trying to prevent, more than treat, intriguing. This passion for public health is what prompted Irina to seek work with the University of Toronto as a course developer. She then pursued her master's at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Ms. Lut has recently finished a survey with Family Planning Association and Public Health England about adults living with HIV in the UK, and the stigma and discrimination associated with the disease. As a social researcher, her team presented Irina Lut by Ayesha V., Level IV 26 TFS ENTRE NOUS 2016

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