Learner Stories: Preparing for a Life in Healthcare

Canadian teen’s career ambition sparked by Michigan Online course

Zafina Zaman, a 15-year-old high school student in Alberta, Canada, has wanted to be a doctor for as long as she can remember.

“I really want to go into medicine,” she said. “The funny thing is that when you’re a little kid you tell your parents ‘I want to be a princess or I want to be a fire truck,’ but even when I was 4, I’ve always said I wanted to be a doctor.” 

One of Zafina’s earliest memories was when her mother had a cold and was sick in bed. With her father at work, she decided to try and make tea, warming water and honey in the microwave (which she was not allowed to use).  

“Later [my mom] talked to the doctor, and they told her to do exactly what I did for her,” Zafina said. “That was fireworks in my 4-year-old brain. Oh my gosh!”

With the support of her family, Zafina has been able to pursue her passion for learning and healthcare despite her youth. 

A Massive Love of Learning

While searching for ways to supplement her education, Zafina discovered her first massive open online course, or MOOC. The flexible timing of the course, “Sleep: Neurobiology, Medicine, and Society,” worked for Zafina and she completed the 12 modules over her summer break.

“They didn’t refuse me for being in middle school,” she said. “I wanted to know more about everything, and I thought, why not?”  

Zafina loved learning more about how the brain works in everyday life. “There is so much that goes behind taking a step, that one movement. It was just eye-opening to be able to see that,” she said. “The human body — how and why things work the way they do — it’s so fascinating!” 

She elected to take the optional honors track for the course, which gave her something to work toward and turned out to be motivating. The honors track option showed up on the certificate she earned upon completing the course, giving Zafina the chance to show others what she accomplished as well as perhaps inspire others to take advantage of these classes at no cost. 

“They’re not age restricted. You don’t have to be a certain age or a certain grade level or have a Ph.D. to take these courses,” she said. “They’re free to anybody and everybody. Why not take them?” 

Success on the honors track helped give Zafina the confidence to try other MOOCs, helping keep her brain occupied when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of traditional education. She took two more Coursera courses, “Understanding the Brain: The Neurobiology of Everyday Life” and “Medical Terminology,” which fed her fascination with how the body and the brain work and how we are able to do the things we do.  

MOOC Certificate Leads to Hands-On Experience

Once she had some health-related courses under her belt, Zafina added them to her resume and LinkedIn profile, which helped earn her a volunteer position with a local health clinic. 

As a volunteer, Zafina helps with administrative work at the front desk and books patients. She recently gained the opportunity to triage a bit, such as taking blood pressure, height, weight, and settling patients into rooms.

“My favorite thing to do is shadowing the doctors because I’m able to connect textbook studies with actual hands-on experience, and that’s been so much fun!” Zafina said. “I’ve been working there for a while now, about a year, and it’s an amazing experience. I’m so grateful I’ve had this opportunity.”

Although there are difficult and awkward moments, the time is rewarding.

“I’ve always really enjoyed helping people. They call it helpers high,” she said. “I love the feeling of being able to see when you help make a change in someone’s life, a feeling of importance and being able to see the changes that you make.”  

Thanks to the staff at the clinic who she says take time out of their day to help guide her, Zafina is gaining hands-on experience in the world of healthcare before learning to drive.

Family Matters

In addition to her interests in healthcare, Zafina also competes as a motivational speaker with Optimist International, a platform for youth to compete in public speaking. 

She’s been competing since she was 8 and has been the youngest contestant during each level. At 13 she competed against high school students to earn a spot representing Canada and the Great Plains Region in the 2022 Oratorical World Championships, still the youngest person to compete in Optimist International history. 

Zafina feels extremely grateful to her family for their support – driving her to a local university for an anatomy class, cheering her on in competitions, and encouraging her to pursue her interest in healthcare despite her age.  

From taking care of her mother at age 4, through dressing up as a doctor for Halloween at age 9, and now considering her college plans, Zafina has never wavered from her desire to pursue healthcare. Even though she struggled through chemistry and needed to persistently work at it, the reward of learning and one day becoming a doctor makes the work worthwhile.  

Zafina attributes her successes to her family and the wonderful opportunities that have allowed her to accomplish as much as she has despite her youth. With support at home and her internal ambition, Zafina remains as committed to her goal as she was at just 4  years old.

“It’s never been anything else,” she said. “It’s always been a natural field for me.”