Elisha Tariq

Give a brief bio about yourself/ your background/ your history.

I was born and raised in England until I was eight years old and then I moved to Neepawa, Manitoba for eight years. I finished elementary school at Hazel M. Kellington School and completed middle school and the first two years of high school at Neepawa Area Collegiate. Then I moved to Brandon where I completed my last two years of high school at Vincent Massey High School. I have always really liked science and mathematics, and by the time I was in middle school I knew I planned to work in the science field. It was when I graduated from high school that I knew I wanted to become a doctor. My admiration for medicine came from my dad as he was a role model for me while growing up. I have never seen him give up easily and he would always persevere when confronted by any obstacles he encountered. My father has been interested in learning and teaching the medical field since he is a family physician. When I was growing up he would talk about the different kinds of diseases out there and how they worked, which I always found it fascinating. This is how I knew that medicine would be the right fit for me.

What education have you taken?

I received my high school diploma in 2019 at Vincent Massey High School. I am currently a third-year undergraduate student with a Chemistry major and a Mathematics minor at Brandon University.

What accomplishments are you proud of?

Throughout high school, I volunteered and tutored, and I wanted to carry doing that while completing my Bachelor’s degree. In my first year, I had the opportunity to volunteer for Let’s Talk Science. As a volunteer, I was able to share my knowledge with kids and show them hands-on activities that make science fun. I also was a lab assistant marker for the chemistry department at Brandon University in my third year.

Throughout my undergraduate studies, I have been placed on the Dean’s Honor List which I am proud of since it has been difficult in the past two years with the pandemic going on. Also being able to juggle studying, volunteering, and time with my family and friends has been a huge achievement that I am proud of since it taught me to how to prioritize my time and stay focused on my goals.

How did you become interested in your field of study?

In high school, I liked all my science courses equally, so I didn’t really know what I wanted to major in when I started my first year of university. When I took General Chemistry I and II in my first year, I realized how much I really liked the labs. The hands-on experience helped me enjoy the material in the class and that’s when I realized that I wanted to spend the rest of my undergraduate degree studying chemistry. Another thing that I noticed about the chemistry field is that it joins mathematics, biology, physics, and the environmental sciences together and I really liked that I got a bit of a taste in the other science fields.

What is your philosophy in life?

My philosophy in life comes from Matt Haig who says “never underestimate the big importance of small things.” It is easy to forget how little things can impact your life so strongly and I must remind myself that the little things are as equally important as big things.

Where do you see yourself in the future?

I plan on applying to medical school and becoming a doctor after completing my four-year Bachelor of Science degree. I also know that I want to be involved in the medical field. I could see myself working as a doctor and in a laboratory-setting doing medical research in the future.

In one sentence, how will you #BreakTheBias?

I will #BreakTheBias by raising my voice when I see mistreatment in any setting.

Nominator’s Comments:

Elisha and I met during the fall semester in 2021. She has been a student in my Analytical Chemistry (Fall 2020, 4 laboratory hours per week) and is currently a student in my Instrumental Analysis (Winter 2022, 3 laboratory hours per week), and Environmental Chemistry (Winter 2022) classes and I had the pleasure to work with her for many hours a week for these two semesters. Elisha is a very dedicated student, hardworking, and she has always shown strong organizational skills while conducting experiments, as well as in her reports and in the way she presented her data. Elisha took it upon herself to help other students with some of their experiments when needed, and she excels in the tests, labs, and in her written reports in all the courses mentioned above. I am very happy with Elisha’s work ethic and the quality of her work. Furthermore, I observed Elisha interact with other students in a direct, professional, and cheerful way and her knowledge, interpersonal skills, people management abilities were all exemplary. Elisha shows a strong interest in research, she is starting her honours research in the coming academic year at the Department of Chemistry which would be very beneficial for her future in science because she would be exposed to new techniques in the laboratory, and she would gain in-depth knowledge in the proteomics field.