uMentor Talk Show

Hoda Gharib is a fourth year Ph.D. student in Social Justice Education at the University of Toronto (St. George). She conducts research that asks the question: what motivates people to engage in social justice behaviour and activism? She received a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Health Studies and Psychology and a Master of Science degree in Health Promotion from Queen's University. Aside from her interest in health and social justice behavior, Hoda is especially curious about how the media shapes our emotions, beliefs, and behaviors, and is passionate about giving children and adults the skills and abilities to critically judge the advertisements and movies they view, the news that they read, and the social media posts that they spend so much time scrolling through. She is working towards being able to conduct research and teach at the university and community levels. Outside the academic world, Hoda loves to hang out at the waterfront with loved ones, play sports, practice Islamic art, and write about her reflections.

Safiya Hasan is a current senior at Briar Woods High School. In 2013, she started a hijab business, Heavenly Hijabs LLC. Since then, she has worked to build her brand as a social entrepreneur to serve the Muslim women population. As an active member of the Idara e Jaferia community in Maryland, Safiya strives to make youth and female involvement more prevalent for the future of Shi'a communities.

At school, Safiya has served as the Secretary and is the current Vice President at Large for the Briar Woods High School Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Chapter. Also, she was the elected Treasurer and Vice President for her school's Muslim Student Association (MSA). As the current President of MSA, Safiya hopes to empower the Muslim community of her school through community service, open discussions, and youth involvement.

Safiya aims to pursue an education in Religious Studies and Entrepreneurship to apply her passions at the forefront of her higher education, In'Sha'Allah.

---

River City and Umoja Games 2021 are up for three awards through SportEvents magazine! These are:

- All-Star Sports Venue – River City Sportsplex

- All-Star Multipurpose Sports Venue or Sports Complex – River City Sportsplex

- The Live or Virtual Sports Event to Watch in 2021- UMOJA Games 2021 – River City Sportsplex, Midlothian, Virginia

To vote, go to:

https://sportseventsmediagroup.com/vote-now-for-the-annual-readers-choice-awards/

Asil Samhat, a student at McMaster University, is currently studying Social Sciences. She is planning to pursue a double-major in Political Science and Social Work. She has a deep love for reading and writing literature and poetry, and loves photography. She believes everyone needs an outlet, and for her, poetry and photography allow her to express her ideas and thoughts in a creative manner that she can share with the world. She also strongly believes in giving back to our communities through volunteer initiatives, as well as identifying and improving issues that can help better our communities to become a place in which everyone thrives.

Faisal Abbas is a technology aficionado and a geek at heart. He currently works as a Consulting Manager in the Tech Advisory area within Accenture. Faisal’s career spans over 16 years and he has worked with several Fortune 500 firms, such as Oracle, IBM, and Dell.

Faisal earned a B.S. in Computer Engineering from Sir Syed University, Pakistan, M.S. in Computer Science from Pakistan, and recently earned his MBA in Finance from Louisiana State University. Faisal has a passion for teaching and training individuals on cutting-edge technologies. In 2013, when he moved to Chicago from Austin, Faisal, with a local community member, felt the need to provide free-of-cost training to community members on easy-to-learn IT technology topics and to get them ready for the job market. With the overwhelming response, Faisal recently started his own YouTube channel to expand the scope of knowledge transfer.

Faisal has a passion for long-distance running and has completed several half marathons and finished the 2018 Chicago Marathon.

Aabir Rizvi is a people-loving, tech-loving, and above all Mola Ali (A.S.)-loving individual. He moved from Karachi to Chicago in 2002 and completed his Undergraduate Degree at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Aabir also completed his Project Management certification from Northwestern University and is actively pursuing an MBA from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Aabir is an active member of the Chicago Shia Community and has been reciting Nohay/Manqabats for over 20 years.

Aabir is a technologist by profession and works at Microsoft as a Customer Engineer. He specializes in helping Microsoft's Premier Customers with their Collaboration Technology needs and helps build their top leadership a road map to onboard the Microsoft Cloud platform. Aabir also plays a critical role in Microsoft's college hire program and mentors new hires joining Microsoft in their group.

Dr. Imran Khan is an accomplished scientist, clinical pharmacist, youth director and foodie. Growing up in small town Arkansas, Dr. Khan and his parents were the only Muslims in his city. For most people, such conditions is a recipe for losing their culture and faith. However with the influence of his parents and his mother's slipper, Dr. Khan became closer to his religion and stronger in his faith.

Dr. Khan's educational background includes graduating with honors with a BS in Chemistry from Arkansas State University and receiving his Doctorate of Pharmacy from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He competed his pharmacy residency at Lutheran General Hospital.

Dr. Khan is currently serving in an administrative role as a clinical pharmacist with Northwestern Medicine (NM) in Chicago, IL. He has implemented 6 pharmacy services with NM and delivered lectures on national and international forums. Recently he was awarded 2020 NM AQSI Best Overall Project Award.

Kabir Ali is a high school student at the High School of Health Sciences in Wisconsin. He enjoys Chemistry, Biology, and Math. During the pandemic, he has started a YouTube channel called The Medical Mixx and an Instagram photography page that have both garnered over 100 followers. He is on his school teams for soccer and mountain biking. He is also the behind the scenes operator for the uMentor talk show.

Born and raised in Hamilton Ontario, Sahar Jaber completed a Bachelor's degree in Sociology, and is currently completing a double honors in Sociology and Communication at McMaster University. She has completed some Islamic studies in Lebanon, and hopes to integrate that knowledge into her work. She started an Islamic publication company known as Figs and Olives Publications, where she recently published her first book, "But Why is the Hijab So Special?" This book aims to educate and inspire young females about the Hijab. It is currently available on Amazon and through direct contact. The main goal of the publishing company is to provide a reliable educational Islamic resource to parents. She is currently working with another aspiring author on a set of influential books. Her goals and aspirations in life are to empower the Muslim generation through literature and knowledge.

Nehal Naqvi is a Senior at Atholton High School, where he formerly served as the Treasurer of the Class of 2021. Also, Nehal is involved with the SGA Exec Board as a Board member and the Principal’s Advisory Committee.

Nehal has been involved with Howard county discourse and policies through his work on the Howard County Association of Student Councils. He works on outreach efforts as the Chair of the Public Relations Committee. In addition, he has served on HCPSS Policy Review, where he has brought the student perspective to community issues. He has also served as a Howard County Teen Court Juror to promote rehabilitation of youth offenders.

Outside of the school setting, Nehal enjoys playing basketball. In addition, he has political ambitions and has participated in door knocking, literature distribution, and phone-banking for the Calvin Ball Campaign.

Join us for our special meet the hosts show!

As a journalist In the West, Fatima Al-Sayed aims to bring more awareness about her community through storytelling. Fatima grew up in Toronto, where she did her undergraduate degree in Journalism at the University of Toronto and received a diploma in Journalism from Centennial College. She landed two internships after graduating. Her first internship was at The National Post, working on video content creation for the Financial Post. Her second internship was at CBC Canada’s “Day 6” radio show/podcast, where she pitched and produced stories. Fatima worked for the CBC before moving to Michigan, where she currently resides with her husband and works as a freelancer and hosts the Professional Edition of the uMentor Talk Show.

Imran Dharamsi is a first-year student at Brown University interested in biology, economics, and political science. He is still exploring his future career path, and is looking forward to taking advantage of Brown's open curriculum during his academic journey. He is involved in a number of student organizations including Brown's Muslim Student Association, the Ma'rifa Shi'a youth group, and Brown's chapter of Every Vote Counts. Imran also enjoys tutoring within his community and volunteers at his Madressa, and has built algebra2.org, a free algebra help website for high school students.

Imran is an avid volunteer at the Umoja Outreach Foundation, and recently began hosting the Teen Edition of the uMentor Talk Show. He hopes that bringing a teenage viewpoint to the show will help high schoolers and college students his age to answer some of the pressing questions they face while getting ready for their careers.

Sara is an undergraduate student in her 4th year at the University of Toronto-Scarborough Campus completing the human biology specialist program. She wants to pursue graduate school and complete a Ph.D. She is passionate about all things science and conducts research at her institution exploring the field of neurobiology. She loves communicating science and wants to inspire youth to pursue STEM-related majors, and appreciates the importance and integration of science into our daily lives. Her other interests include fashion, photography, and reading. She has a science & lifestyle blog on Instagram in which she showcases her interests and shares study tips for students.

---

This show is sponsored by Malak Wazne Photography. All profits from the sales of Beirut prints will be donated to people directly impacted by the explosion in Beirut. Visit malakwazne.com/shop to order!