uMentor Talk Show

Dr. Kirmani is an enthusiastic technologist, researcher, and public Speaker, and has a diverse professional background working with Fortune 500 firms, in sectors as diverse as Finance, Pharmaceuticals, and Consulting, most recently working as a Data Scientist in the Defense & Space sector. He is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Dr. Kirmani received his Bachelors's Degree in Economics, Math & Computer Science from the University of Central Florida (UCF) in 2012, then completed his Master’s in Engineering from UCF in 2015. He is active in the community, having served on multiple management committees, as well as teaching & mentoring at various institutes. He is a co-founder of the Ahlul-Bayt Society at UCF, and served as President and Vice President of the Society. He has traveled throughout the U.S. & U.K. as a lecturer for the past 11 years. Dr. Kirmani has a Ph.D. in Engineering from UCF.

Hussain Ali Naqvi is a third-year student at the University of Waterloo, with experience in working with the Government of Canada at various levels of the healthcare system as an analyst. He is an aspiring physician with publications on dementia, telemedicine, and the integrative healthcare system in Ontario, Canada. He’s worked for the Canadian provincial government and the federal government in health policy analysis, health research, health data and system-level decision making. Hussain also operates in healthcare innovation, where he works with a team of medical experts, students, and researchers in designing new 3D medical technologies, and clinical decision software through data science and machine learning.

Hussain's next step is medical school, where he seeks to enhance his medical specialization and implement further innovation into healthcare technology operations.

Bushra Tahan studied Chemical Engineering and did 2 years of cooperative education (co-op) programs before graduation. She worked for 8 months in the cosmetic manufacturing industry and 4 months in a water treatment plant. She then spent 1 year in a vaccine manufacturing company. She currently is an Engineer-in-Training at Sanofi Pasteur, where she works with Preventative Maintenace Technical Services.

Ana Ali is a recent graduate of Mount Holyoke College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Education, with a minor in Politics. Ana is an executive team member of both the Islamic Masumeen Center of New England and Taha Collective, two non-profit Shi'a organizations based in the Boston area. She has spent the last 5 years working with MOVE, an organization that seeks to empower young women to create social change through the development of self confidence and leadership skills. Ana is currently applying to law school to pursue her career interests, which include immigration rights/policy, women’s rights, and overall promoting diversity and inclusion through the advocacy of marginalized groups.

Fatimah Bazzi holds an MBA from Lawrence Technological University and has a TESL certificate. She is passionate about teaching and educating young Muslim children about the beauty of the religion of Islam, especially through the teachings of Ahlul Bayt (peace be upon them). For this reason, Fatimah writes children's Islamic books. She has published "Muharram Nights" and "Mila Wears the Hijab". She is excited to see that her books are aligned with her purpose, and children love and continue to benefit from them.

Fatimah is a mother to two wonderful kids, Tia and Ali.

Sabah Hashmi is the founder of Sabah’s Corner, a blog that strives to support the rapidly growing number of fellow Muslim parents navigating parenthood in the west. Born and raised in Canada herself, with a masters degree, she turned to blogging to address this gap once she herself became a mother. In her blog, you will find a curated list of easily digestible topics that are thoughtful and well researched; often including references to hadith (prophetic traditions), evidence-based science and even some fun humour! She covers a vast range of topics, including pregnancy, postpartum, parenting, language, religion, and spirituality. The blog is also home to many practical resources, tools and product deals designed to make things just a little easier for western-Muslim parents. To subscribe to Sabah’s Corner and receive exclusive offers, click here (www.sabahscorner.com) or follow the blog on Facebook @sabahcorner.

Sabah’s Corner Website:

www.sabahscorner.com

Facebook Group: Muslim Motherhood in the West

https://www.facebook.com/groups/muslimmotherhoodinthewest

0:00 Introduction

1:50 Education and career background

02:55 What is a digital content writer?

03:40 What is your message to our youth?

05:40 How do you deal with writers’ block?

06:30 Fitness journey

09:05 Advice for youth going through mental health struggles?

10:00 NYC Marathon experience amid COVID-19

12:24 Dealing with loss during COVID-19

18:10 How do you prepare and train for a marathon?

19:23 Running for charity

22:00 Advice you wish you’d known when younger

24:30 Advice on how to cope with struggles

28:10 Spirituality of new moms

Huda A. Jaffer is the digital content writer for the Imam Mahdi Association of Marajea, a non-profit organization that seeks to provide religious education for Muslim Americans. Huda holds a degree in English and Middle Eastern Studies from the City University of New York- Hunter and has attained formal religious education in the seminary of Karbala, Iraq. Over the last decade, Huda has discovered a passion for exercise and has sought to break the barriers and stigma around women who wear the hijab in fitness. She has pushed herself to be the best athlete version of herself while training with some of America's toughest trainers. Over the last several years, she found a love for running which led her to complete two New York City Marathons, and she plans on running more marathons across the world. Most importantly, Huda is a mother to her two daughters and desires to teach them the value of having confidence in their faith and pushes them to be the best version of themselves.

Born and raised in Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania, Ahmed completed secondary and advanced level education at Aga Khan Mzizima Secondary School. He moved to Edmonton, Canada to pursue further education. He graduated with Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BscN) and has been working for Covenant Health for more than 15 years, areas of specialty have been general internal medicine and emergency nursing. With his spouse, he co-founded LIFESAVER YEG LTD in 2016, and has been providing CPR and First Aid Training services in Edmonton. Ahmed was involved with serving the community in Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania. He has also been involved in serving the Edmonton Jamaat at different leadership levels from being a program organiser to the president of the jamaat.

0:00 Introduction

02:28 Tell us about yourself

05:10 Why nursing?

08:10 Training process for nursing

10:28 What specialty do you practice in?

13:00 Starting your business

16:28 Advice on starting a business

18:25 Your service to the Shi'a community

24:40 Juggling your roles

28:30 Avoiding burnout, especially during COVID

32:10 Final piece of advice

Mariam Dahoui Charara is the author of the upcoming book series, 'To Enter His Gardens', a Figs and Olives Publications product. She received a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and a Master's degree in Teaching, with specialties in English and Speech. She is a wife and mother of two children.

Qaim Naqvi, a Chicago native, is a University of Illinois graduate in Natural Sciences and Environmental Science. He has worked in a variety of different areas of environmental conservation, from ecological research to community outreach to trail work in some of the most remote areas of the U.S. One of his long-term goals is to bring greater environmental consciousness into the Muslim community.