Ava is an international student at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. She received her undergraduate A.B in Molecular Biology and certificate in Spanish Language Cultures from Princeton University. Born in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with dual citizenship for Dominica and Iran, Ava began her undergraduate career with a difficult decision of choosing between Princeton University and Birmingham Medical School in the United Kingdom. Wanting to accolade a unique and diverse set of experiences, she ultimately chose Princeton. In college, she (miraculously) balanced her time between wet lab research and a wide range of extracurricular activities including president of Princeton’s belly dance troupe, co-president of Princeton Disabilities Awareness, and writer for Princeton Public Health Review. After graduating from Princeton, Ava pursued a one-year Project-55 Alumnicorps fellowship working as a Telehealth coordinator at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Due to current political circumstances, Ava and her family remain separated. Although distraught, she has used this time of uncertainty to remain loyal to her passion for medicine, applying her situation to her role as co-chair of the Refugee Health Partners health services committee while continuing research.