Student donates to health sciences

The winter semester is back in full swing and Wilfrid Laurier University’s health sciences program is beginning its second semester. Although it maintains a low profile at the university, the program is evolving with the help of involved students, such as Latif Murji.

Murji, a recipient of the TD Scholarship for Outstanding Community Leadership, has quietly donated $2,000 to health sciences thus far which will be utilized to further develop the program.

He explains that “because I had a full scholarship, I felt that the health sciences program would be a great cause to give to and would allow me to have an impact.”

The program is something Murji is very passionate about. After choosing to attend Laurier over other schools such as McMaster, which has a well-known health sciences program, Murji describes Laurier as offering something that similar programs at other universities lack: “a small, very personal program with a very tight-knit environment.”

The program’s small size creates a far less competitive atmosphere in which students are very supportive of each other.

Despite the positive response from students so far, according to Murji health sciences is “not a perfect program yet.” Students and faculty are working together to improve the program and develop it further.

Murji has taken an active role in creating the Health Sciences Students Association of which he is the president. The group’s main goal “is to address issues related to courses,” explains Murji.

The biggest matter they are addressing this semester relates to the necessity of the calculus course MA110 as mandatory for the program. With most of the health sciences students hoping to apply to medical school, the Health Sciences Students Association wants to evaluate which courses will be most useful for writing the MCAT.

With one semester completed, health sciences students seem pleased with the direction in which the program is moving.

Murji maintains that he is “really happy with the decision to come to Laurier,” and looks forward to being part of the first graduating class of the program in 2013.