Post-Graduate Pathways: An Evening of Becoming

There are moments when past, present, and imagined futures touch the same ground. They tug the air in a new direction, rearranging your sense of what tomorrow might hold. You feel it in your chest first, then in the way people move toward one another, hopeful and unguarded. That was the pulse of Post-Graduate Pathways, a place where Black ambition gathered in one space and rewrote the gravity of what becomes possible when we dare to dream in community.

Post Graduate Pathways. Photo by: HouseOfNeriah

Before any introductions broke the air, the room began to soften on its own. People gravitated toward one another with an easy familiarity, as if the space had been waiting for them. Early laughter, small questions, shared nods; these quiet openings became the true prologue of the night. Whatever Post-Graduate Pathways was meant to be, the community shaped it long before the program began.

The core of the event was the exceptional group of Black professionals and scholars who volunteered their time, each carrying a universe of story. These introductions were brief but potent, giving undergraduates just enough of each journey to recognize themselves in the star-studded stories across the room.

Together, they formed a mosaic of Black scholarship in motion. Medical students who had once doubted their belonging, law students driven by justice, researchers unraveling questions that shape entire fields, professors transforming the academy from the inside out. For many in this space, it was the first time they could look at a future version of themselves and feel it looking back.

Enock, Haneen, Groom, and Sheldene; Members of the UABSA, captured by HouseOfNeriah

The Law & Policy Shapers

McKayla Kennedy
McKayla is a second year MA student in political science whose work focuses on international human rights law and the mining industry. She brings a practical, straight forward understanding of how global issues show up in real communities. She also has experience as a TA, municipal intern, and conference presenter, so her advice to students comes from actually being in the mix.

Jana Elsalhy
Jana is a thesis based MA student whose interests include Middle Eastern politics, democracy, social movements, and decolonial politics. She’s someone who pays close attention to how people organize and why they take risks for change. Outside her research, she plays soccer, the cello, and loves cooking and baking.

Savannah Ribeiro
Savannah is a fourth year PhD student studying how the dead shape national stories and the politics of memory. Her work deals with history in a way that’s personal and reflective, and she talks about it with a lot of openness. When she’s not researching, she plays saxophone, knits, and watches movies.

Only smiles here! (photo cred: HouseofNeriah)

The Healers & Innovators

Princess Eze
A second-year medical student and President of the BMSA. Her path, which includes a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience, shows a commitment to care that feels both steady and welcoming. Princess carries her role with a calm confidence that makes the journey into medicine look possible for the students watching her.

Jeremies Ibanga
A second-year medical student and VP External for the BMSA. With a background that includes a Master of Science in Pharmacology, Jeremies brings an analytical mind shaped by curiosity and discipline. His journey speaks to the often unseen layers of medicine; the calm persistence required long before the white coat.

Abe Hussein
A second-year medical student and the VP Internal for the BMSA. Prior to medical school, Abe completed a Bachelor of Science in Statistics from the University of Calgary, showcasing how structure, empathy, and intention can blend data and intuition in medical practice.

Aishat Farinre
A second-year medical student and the VP Events for the BMSA. Prior to medical school, Aisha completed a degree in Pharmacy. Her path highlights how expertise can evolve and expand, and how students can build futures that don't need to follow a single line.

Raqeeb Popoola
A second-year medical student and the VP Social Media and Marketing for the BMSA. Prior to medical school, Raqeeb completed a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering, a testament to interdisciplinary brilliance and the possibilities that unfold when you refuse to be boxed into one field.

Conversations we hold (HouseofNeriah)

The Engineers, Scientists, and Builders

Stephen Adebayo
A graduate researcher in Biomedical Engineering with an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Technology. Stephen blends technical depth with a love for the game, the kind of person who can talk about medical innovation and, in the same breath, debate football lineups with real joy (he supports Barcelona!).

Paul Elinkpo
A chemist pursuing an MSc in Chemistry (thesis-based). Paul makes chemistry feel alive, reminding students that everything around them, even their thoughts, snacks, and love, is pure chemistry in action.

Jesuloluwa (Lolu) Zaccheus
Currently working at the PhD level in Mechanical Engineering with an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering. Lolu approaches his field with a quiet ease.

Felix Ayiera
A researcher pursuing a PhD in Food Science and Technology majoring in Food Microbiology. Felix’s work sits at the intersection of global systems and everyday life, reminding the room that food, safety, and sustainability are inseparable and that scientific curiosity can be a form of care for entire communities. He is also a travel enthusiast and a Manchester United fan.

Caroline Namyalo
A communicator and youth advocate pursuing a Masters of Arts in Communication and Technology. Caroline treats media as a tool for empowerment, weaving a passion for God, music, and dance with working with teenagers and youth in empowerment initiatives.

Human bingo brings us together (HouseOfNeriah)

The Professors Who Anchor the Work

Dr. Elmond Bandauko
An Assistant Professor of Human Geography at the University of Alberta and Research Lead of the Informality and Everyday Urbanism Lab (INFELA). Dr. Bandauko studies urban informality and everyday urbanism in Global South cities with rigor, grounding students in the understanding that cities are shaped by people, and so are the futures we imagine within them.

Neal LaMontagne
A Faculty Lecturer in Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Alberta and a professional city planner with over 25 years of experience. Neal bridges design, governance, and community, focusing on how policy and design shape the urban environment and why sustainable, compassionate cities don’t happen by accident.

Dr. JA Morrow
An ATS Assistant Lecturer in Human Geography and an urban strategy planner and environmental sociologist at the University of Alberta. Dr. Morrow’s research focuses on the role of the environment in everyday life and the sense of togetherness in urban culture, reminding students that research is about culture, environment, belonging, and the ways people build meaning into the places they inhabit.

in their collective light, their brilliance gathered into something larger than themselves. Together, they showed that Black ambition is an inheritance... one we extend to each other, one conversation at a time. In that exchange, horizons move.