Helena Dhamko, 0T8

“Without the Heaslip Award, I would have had to choose most of my activities for the rest of my college years based on their monetary reward, rather than the actual experience.”

JUNE 2007 - One of the first things Helena Dhamko noticed when she arrived at Trinity was how her fellow students struck a balance between academics and extracurricular activities. “I was so impressed that people were able to do everything, from volunteering and being in clubs to getting high marks,” she says. “That’s what I wanted for myself for the next four years.”

In first year, however, financial concerns made that balance seem unattainable. Dhamko knew she had to support her studies and expected to work throughout her time at Trinity. Her father died suddenly from a rare heart condition shortly before she, her mother and younger brother left Albania seven years ago to seek better educational opportunities in Canada, and her mother, who was an accountant in their native country, had to struggle to find secure employment.

Dhamko found work as a private tutor for high school students, and, like many other life sciences students with their sights set on medical school, took a hospital volunteer job. With her heavy course load, plus teaching Sunday School, there was little time to even think about student clubs or activities. “Another reason was simply that I wanted to fulfill as best I could all of the responsibilities that I undertook.”

In the fall of 2005, everything changed when she became one of the two inaugural recipients of the William and Nona Heaslip Scholarships, which provide $15,000 per year to each of two students entering their second year and are renewable for their third and fourth years provided the recipients continue to meet eligibility standards.

Without the burden of a part-time job, she has happily discovered many options for getting involved in college life, including playing intramural volleyball and serving as a director of Stethoscope, a U of T club that launched a newsletter for students in Life Sciences in 2006. Many of the contributors are fellow Trinity students.

She also added volunteering at various clinics (gynaecology, endocrinology and hyperbaric medicine) at Mount Sinai and Toronto General hospitals, important exposure for reaching her career goal as she pursues a specialist in pathobiology. She also developed an interest in biomedical research after a summer placement at St. Michael's Hospital, where she investigated the mechanisms of colon cancer and had her findings included in a manuscript submitted for publication. As a result of this experience, she is considering a career in internal medicine, possibly combined with some research activities. She says she may have “subconsciously” chosen medicine because of her father’s premature death, but she also wants to use her aptitude for math and science in a helping profession. “I like dealing with people on an individual level, creating one-on-one connections.”

The best part of the Heaslip scholarship, Dhamko says, is the gift of time. “Without the award, I would have had to choose most of my activities for the rest of my college years based on their monetary reward rather than the actual experience. This gives me time to focus on my long-term goals, rather than just providing for my short-term needs.”

– Megan Easton