As a kid, I was all over the place in terms of what I wanted to be when I got older. Sometimes a teacher, sometimes an astronaut, but mostly a dentist. Each time I went to the dentist, I was amazed by the fact that the office had videogames and a play area. How cool was it to be able to be a kid at work? Not realizing that the dentist didn’t get to actually play the games themselves, I decided I wanted to be a dentist! One day, however, as the dentist was cleaning my teeth, a thought entered my mind—what if someone bit him and he lost all his fingers? The thought terrified me, enough to make me no longer want to pursue a career in dentistry.
I felt lost for a while, as do most at this age, until my mother showed up with an acceptance letter from Health Careers High School. I figured, lets give it a shot, and I’m glad I did. Throughout my years there, I became more and more convinced that medicine was the field for me.
Fast forward, I earned my medical degree from UNT Health Science Center in Fort Worth and then moved across the country with my husband to complete my residency in New York. I was fortunate to train at one of the busiest and most diverse outpatient government clinics where I was exposed to a variety of illnesses and conditions that I may not have otherwise seen. Some areas that are particularly of interest to me include preventative medicine, behavioral medicine, mental health, and ADHD.
When I am not practicing medicine, I enjoy traveling. Over the past few years, my husband and I have visited Iceland, Spain, France, UAE, England, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, and Canada. We’re hoping to visit Morocco on our next stop. We also picked up hiking a few years ago. So far, we have hiked the Whistler Mountain, various parts of the Appalachian Mountains, and the Vatnajökull glacier. We can’t wait to check out the Rocky Mountains! I’ve also recently started to take up photography and bring back my skills as a baker.
Now that we’re back in Texas, we’re excited to catch up with our families and build our life together in the DFW area. I have always been a kid at heart, but since I couldn’t be a kid when I grew up, I’m glad I decided to be a pediatrician instead! I absolutely love what I do and look forward to coming to work each day.
CV:
Undergraduate Degree: B.A. Biology & Islamic Studies. McCombs Business Foundations Certificate, UT Austin – Austin, Texas
Medical Degree: D.O., UNT Health Science Center-Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine – Fort Worth, Texas
Pediatric Residency: Good Samaritan Hospital Medical Center & NYU Winthrop University Hospital – West Islip, New York
Certified by the American Board of Pediatrics & American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians
Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics
