Salma El Ali

Burlington, ON

Research Assistant, University of Toronto
Burlington, ON

CWHHA member since 2021.

Biography

I was born in the city of Tripoli, Lebanon in May 2002 to Lebanese parents. I grew up in the United Arab Emirates, first in the capital of Abu Dhabi, and then in Dubai for the rest of my time there along with my two younger sisters. I grew up learning Arabic (my mother tongue), French (the primary language of instruction in the schools I attended up until I was 15), and English (the main language used to communicate in an international business hub like Dubai). I switched to an English educational system while attending a postsecondary school here in Canada at the age of 15. In addition to receiving honours standing for every year that I attended that school, I became heavily involved in extracurricular activities. This included being the head of the school’s Eco Club (and getting involved in environmentally focused volunteer work in the wider Burlington community), helping fill up ocean freight containers filled with essentials to send to Lebanon after it had suffered the devastating August 4th explosion, and tutoring a Syrian refugee in the English language through the Syrian Canadian Foundation. I also worked as a French tutor to two students in Grades 2 and 7 while in high school. The COVID pandemic hit Canada in the middle of my final semester of senior year, and I was able to maintain the grades needed to be admitted to the University of Toronto’s Life Sciences stream at the St. George Campus as we all moved to an online format of learning. In my first year at the university, I was employed by Dr. Monica Parry as a research assistant to work with her on her research on women with cardiovascular disease through the Work Study program, and I continue to work with her during the summer semester. I have since switched from working towards a Bachelor of Science to a Bachelor’s of Arts as an Environmental Studies major, and plan on moving near the St. George campus for the 2021/2022 school year.