Ahmad Shahin

Ahmad B. Shahin, a first-generation Palestinian American, is graduating summa cum laude from the Honors College with a Bachelor of Science in physiology and a minor in Arabic. As a Baird Scholar from Tucson, Ahmad has demonstrated his commitment to the underserved, the University and the greater Tucson community throughout his undergraduate experience.

Since his freshman year, Ahmad has served as a volunteer mentor and translator to refugee youths at struggling local high schools through the La Frontera Youth Mentorship Program. In 2018, he traveled to India to support rural eye clinics and record sight-restoring surgeries as an intern for a nonprofit organization. Ahmad has also conducted research on barriers to employment for homeless individuals in Tucson in partnership with Primavera Works, traveled to Dallas to support affordable housing initiatives through the Alternative Spring Breaks Program, and provided basic medical care to Tucson’s homeless population through the Workship Program.

As a pre-medical student, Ahmad found a home in the University of Arizona’s chapter of Alpha Epsilon Delta, the national pre-health honorary. Serving over the course of three years as president, vice president and philanthropy chair, he led more than 30 philanthropic engagements, oversaw hundreds of events with his board and facilitated the group’s first-ever trip to the Alpha Epsilon Delta National Convention in Maryland. Ahmad has worked both as a medical scribe at a urology clinic and as a research assistant in May Khanna’s pharmacology lab, where he conducted research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and chronic pain. Ahmad also helps Alzheimer's and dementia patients regain lost mobility and sharpen mental acuity as an intern for the University of Arizona Elder Rehabilitation Program. Ahmad is a Center for Middle Eastern Studies Outreach Scholar, Raytheon Scholar and a top-10 finalist for University of Arizona Homecoming King. After graduation, Ahmad will pursue a medical degree at the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine.