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Hearing-impaired biologist not deaf to world's poor
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May 30, 2003
When Simran Bains was nine years old, her parents took her to visit their childhood homes in India. "That first time in India opened me up to another world," she recalls. "The slums, the poverty, the begging children: I knew then I just wanted to be of service in a place where the need was so great."
This spring, Bains, who attended a French immersion program in Abbotsford and speaks French, English, and Punjabi, will graduate with a degree in ecology and evolutionary biology. She hopes to enrol in the University of British Columbia’s medical school in 2004 and pursue a career in international medicine. Hearing impaired since childhood, she credits SFU’s disability centre for providing the extra support she needed to complete her studies successfully.
"I can read lips, but I am always straining to hear, especially in large, noisy settings," says the 21-year-old. "The centre loaned me special equipment that amplified my professors’ voices so I could hear more in the large university classrooms. The centre also advocated on my behalf, and helped my instructors to understand how they could minimize my challenges in the classroom."
Despite her hearing difficulties, Bains’ resolve to work in the developing world has not wavered. In 2001, she volunteered at Mother Theresa’s malnutrition centre in Haiti. This summer, she plans to work alongside health care professionals in Peru, helping AIDS/HIV patients. And come September, she will serve as a medical intern in a rural hospital in Punjab.
When the day comes that she is a medical doctor, she hopes "to tap into the resources of rich countries to enable poor countries to succeed. The desire to serve the global community is what drives me every day."
-30-
Contact
Simran Bains, 604.850.0994; bainsimran@hotmail.com
This spring, Bains, who attended a French immersion program in Abbotsford and speaks French, English, and Punjabi, will graduate with a degree in ecology and evolutionary biology. She hopes to enrol in the University of British Columbia’s medical school in 2004 and pursue a career in international medicine. Hearing impaired since childhood, she credits SFU’s disability centre for providing the extra support she needed to complete her studies successfully.
"I can read lips, but I am always straining to hear, especially in large, noisy settings," says the 21-year-old. "The centre loaned me special equipment that amplified my professors’ voices so I could hear more in the large university classrooms. The centre also advocated on my behalf, and helped my instructors to understand how they could minimize my challenges in the classroom."
Despite her hearing difficulties, Bains’ resolve to work in the developing world has not wavered. In 2001, she volunteered at Mother Theresa’s malnutrition centre in Haiti. This summer, she plans to work alongside health care professionals in Peru, helping AIDS/HIV patients. And come September, she will serve as a medical intern in a rural hospital in Punjab.
When the day comes that she is a medical doctor, she hopes "to tap into the resources of rich countries to enable poor countries to succeed. The desire to serve the global community is what drives me every day."
-30-
Contact
Simran Bains, 604.850.0994; bainsimran@hotmail.com