During her two years at UM-Dearborn, Noora Ahmad has actively sought ways to support and raise awareness for diverse communities and individuals on campus. In her sophomore year, she became a mentor through the Wolverine Mentor Collective and met a young engineering student who was new to the education system.

Recognizing an opportunity to assist, Noora introduced the student to the NSF S-STEM Scholarship, from which she herself had benefited. Encouraged by Noora’s guidance, the student applied and a few months later, received an acceptance letter.

“On my way to class, I bumped into her, and we caught up on the semester,” Noora said. “She, then, gave me a thank-you card expressing gratitude for being able to relieve the burden of financial demand she and her parents were facing prior to the start of the semester. That moment, gave me a greater sense of duty to enlighten others of opportunities to develop their college career.”

However, Noora’s commitment goes beyond this instance. Her most significant contribution on campus has been her work with the Deaf community. Observing their underrepresentation, she made it her mission to raise awareness and provide support by starting a new student organization, hosting events, and inviting experts in the field to speak on campus.

Deaf and American Sign Language Club

One of the first initiatives Noora took, was starting the Deaf and American Sign Language Club (DASL). Through this club, she began to host various events on campus including ASL Learning Sessions, Silent Dinner, and “Deafinitely” Heard. During those events, students would share their experiences with hearing loss, whether it was their own or that of a loved one.

“Starting the DASL Club became my outlet to engage with what I love to talk about, while also providing space for others to share their experiences,” she said. “Attendees expressed their excitement that people with hearing loss were being recognized here on campus.”

At one particular event, a Silent Dinner, the topic of accessibility within Deaf communities became centerstage. Noora met a student with cochlear implants who emphasized the need to thrive in educational and professional settings despite hearing loss. Suggested solutions included amplifying voices and reducing background noises in classrooms.

“Before we bid farewell, she said that events like these make people like her prouder to embrace their identities as deaf students, and that became my drive to show others the beauty of deaf culture and its history,” Noora said.

Bringing Experts to Campus

As a biochemistry major, Noora has worked closely with Dr. Besa Xhabija, a faculty member in her department. After taking one of Dr. Xhabija’s classes, Noora became interested in clinical studies focused on making cochlear implants fully implantable. One such study was taking place at Michigan Medicine.

“Upon seeing Michigan Medicine’s project to create a new fully implantable cochlear implant, I researched the project leader and gathered his publications along with the participating surgeons’ publications to show Dr. Xhabija,” she said.

From there, Noora took the initiative to propose to Dr. Xhabija that the principal investigator of the study be invited to the Fall 2025 Natural Science Colloquium. Dr. Xhabija agreed, and the researcher gladly accepted the invitation. Noora will soon have the chance to co-host the event with Dr. Xhabija and meet the Ann Arbor research team, with hopes of collaborating with them in the future.

A Lifelong Advocate

Even though she’s made great progress, Noora doesn’t plan on stopping her advocacy work anytime soon. If anything, she hopes to be at the forefront of finding solutions for the hearing impaired to improve their hearing and overall quality of life by becoming a cochlear implant surgeon.

“I aim to continue my devotion to delve deeper into the mechanisms and operations of cochlear implants further along in my studies,” she said. “I hope to restore hearing in patients and see the difference in their daily lives being enriched with sounds of nature and their loved ones.”