Student. Cancer Researcher. Advocate. Consultant?
If you told me a year ago that these words would all eventually define me, I would have laughed. Well, unless you told me that I could survive with no sleep, which, thankfully, I’m still getting a couple hours. It’s not easy, but life never is.
I first heard about Nexus when I was a freshman in college. I had changed my major from Business to International Business, taking advantage of the rigor of GW’s “IBus” program and being in the nation’s capital, allowing me to explore public policy. I decided to use my skills to explore two paths: advocacy and international consulting. At the time, Nexus International hadn’t been established, and Nexus Consulting was three days old, and around 8 members. We didn’t have the effective communication channels we did now; we drafted up the bylaws, wrote out long-term plans, and created what would end up being the first revenue-generating, student-run consulting firm located in central Washington, DC. My other path was quite different: I joined the American Lung Cancer Screening Initiative. My grandfather passed from lung cancer, and screening for lung cancer, while easy and relatively cheap, is abysmal compared to colon, prostate, breast, and other cancers. As a result, mortality from lung cancer from 2017-2021 was greater than those three cancers combined. After learning about this, I was determined to make a change. I joined the GWU chapter of ALCSI, and after a year of working with them, I joined the national advocacy team, helping to promote legislation in Congress as well as writing resolutions for state medical societies.
During the summer, I also picked up a few research projects, exploring clinical chemistry and cancer. I learned about genetic variants that cause cancer and their relative rates among different populations using different data sets. I learned about differences in race and ethnicity in clinical chemistry labs, and the inequality that marginalized groups face in scientific research. These research projects helped me find a passion in gathering knowledge and asking questions. There’s a lot in the world we haven’t explored, and I encourage everyone to take time out of their day to write down a few questions they have, and from time to time, reflect back on your past perspectives on the question and record them. You will be shocked to see your own mental growth, and hopefully, encouraged to reflect further.
- Ahmed Agha
