Doctoral student Youssra Rahham has been awarded the MAX Scholarship Fund which honours Muslim youth who are studying and creating value in their communities throughout their post-secondary education.
Receiving the Madiha Salman Memorial Science and Engineering Scholarship holds a special meaning for Youssra. Madiha Salman, also an engineer and PhD student was killed in June 2021 in London, Ontario in a senseless act of Islamophobia.
“This scholarship is more than financially meaningful to me,” said Rahham, “as I came to realize that my ambitions match the late Madiha’s, which motivates me, even more, to follow in her footsteps.”
Rahham works with nanoparticles under the supervision of Professor Marios Ioannidis. A key objective of her research is to understand the transport and fate of harmful nano plastics in aquifers.
“If we understand where these toxic nano plastics end up, we can create better environmental remediation solutions,” said Rahham.
Rahham aspires to pursue an academic career and to encourage younger Muslim and non-Muslim women to pursue a degree in engineering. Rahham has always desired to join a community of Muslim leaders who are driven by serving and engaging with their community. She is thrilled to be awarded the MAX Scholarship Fund.
“This fund has a gigantic social and humanitarian impact because encouraging and investing in education is the first step toward a successful community”, Rahham commented.
Rahham is passionate about civic engagement and social responsibility. She plans to volunteer with MAX and BridgeTO Youth to mentor high school students in the next academic year.