MasoomaTahir, 2021 AWSN Scholarship Recipient
Masooma Tahir is studying Mechanical Engineering with a Biomedical Engineering specialization at the University of Calgary. She was born in Pakistan and immigrated to Canada in 2009. From a young age, she has been interested in problem-solving, science, mathematics and arts. Her interest in STEM pushed her to pursue engineering. She picked mechanical engineering because it is broad, yet it intersects all major disciplines of engineering. She is passionate about Diversity in STEM, Mental Health and Sustainability.
To foster a strong sense of community and act as a positive role model, she became involved in advocating for inclusion and diversity in STEM through volunteering as Rural and Indigenous Coordinator and Volunteer Coordinator with Let’s Talk Science. Her role included organizing STEM activities, designing workshops and planning rural outreach trips. She has also worked as an Engineering Ambassador for Discover Engineering Program at UofC. Through this position, she has helped promote the engineering program to high school and incoming engineering students. She is keen on fostering a sense of community among engineers and worked on this through informal and formal mentorship by volunteering with various mentorship programs like Cybermentor Program, Schulich Ignite and StemPals.
She values the importance of mental health resources and advocating for mental health stigma. She has been volunteering with Out-Run the Stigma; mental health club focused on changing the narrative surrounding mental health and raising funds for Distress Center for the past four years. So far, collectively, the club has raised over $133,000 for the Calgary Distress Centre.
She is also passionate about sustainability and has joined Sustainable Development Goals Alliance (SDGA) executive team. This summer, she was part of the planning committee responsible for hosting the 2021 SDG summit, a week-long event highlighting various notable speakers discussing SDG goals, environmental concerns and advocacy work. This year she is also serving as a project manager for the LITE solar-powered computer project with Project 90 club, collaborating with the charity HOPEthiopia.
To support the professional growth of her peers, she has joined the University of Calgary Consulting Association as a Director of STEAM. Her goal for the 2021-2022 year is to branch out and provide engineering students opportunities that synergize technical and soft skills, including outreach events like STEM in consulting and Diversity in Consulting.