Yusef Yousuf is a 3rd year medical student at the University of Alberta. He is originally from Toronto where he completed his BSc and MSc in medical science at the University of Toronto. He is part of the Black Medical Students’ Association (BMSA) that was founded in 2019. Since then, the BMSA has been working on improving representation of Black students within medicine.
To read Yusef’s abstract on Addressing Racial Disparities in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, please click here.
Eki Okungbowa, Benjamin Denga and Jane Sewali are currently graduate students in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta. They are all members of the Black Students in Education.
To read the Black Education Students’ abstract on Addressing Anti-Black Racism at an Institutional Level: Perspectives from Black Education Students, please click here.
Founded in 2018, the University of Alberta’s Black Students Association (UABSA) is a student group that strives to empower and promote community interaction among all Black students at the University of Alberta. With the goal of fostering student development, the UABSA’s objective is to create a network of supportive members who connect culturally, socially, and contribute to one another’s success academically.
Our aim is not only to provide a safe environment for Black students, but one that invites all University of Alberta students to discuss issues affecting the Black community, as well as aiming to encourage them to become more aware and involved with the movement of overcoming social, economic and racial inequalities in our world.
To read the UABSA’s abstract for our second panel, please click here.
Evelyn Asiedu is a native of Brampton, Ontario. In 2013 she received her Honors B.Sc. in Chemistry from Western University. That same year she moved to Edmonton to pursue her doctoral studies. Her thesis work aimed to identify chemicals in oil sands wastewater and, understand how long those chemicals take to degrade. Her volunteer activities have centered around environmental sustainability, and the promotion of diversity in science. Last summer, Evelyn published a Maclean’s article titled “Canadian universities must collect race-based data” speaking to her experience as a Black female graduate student. Evelyn defended her PhD thesis in October 2020.
To read Evelyn’s abstract on Continuing the conversation – “The Good and Bad of Black Grad”, please click here.