Past Operations Managers

Navya Mohlajee, Avicenna Operations Manager, Interdisciplinary Health Sciences

Rana Youssef, Avicenna Operations Manager, Molecular and Cellular Biology

Rana is a senior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She completed her Bachelors of Science degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. Rana began volunteering with Avicenna in January 2017 as an Operations Volunteer and then as an Assistant Operations Manager. She hopes to continue being a part of the incredible effort and free services that Avicenna provides to the underserved residents in the Urbana-Champaign area. Her goal is to pursue a career in medicine in the future to have a long-lasting impact on her community.

Devaki Belwalkar, Avicenna Assistant Operations Manager, Junior in Pre-Health

I have been volunteering with Avicenna since 2014. I was introduced to Avicenna through the RSO at UIUC, and later volunteered as an operations volunteer. I am currently completing my Bachelors of Science in Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Volunteering at Avicenna has been an invaluable experience as it has given me the opportunity to work with a diverse population as well as develop a better understanding of some of the complexities and challenges in the healthcare system.

In the future I hope to pursue a career in medicine with the same passion and conviction that is there in Avicenna. 

Kareem Al-Qadi, Avicenna Operations Manager, Junior in BioEngineering

I began my volunteering with Avicenna in 2015 as an Operation volunteer. I had heard through the local masjid that Avicenna was a clinic that served the un/underinsured residents of Champaign and that they were looking for volunteers, and I was interested.  I am a junior at the University of Illinois working on my Bachelors degree in Bioengineering.

Volunteering at Avicenna has given me the chance to give back to my community, while also allowing me to develop and interactively experience a health care setting. As someone who has lived in Champaign for the majority of my life, it is always a rewarding feeling to know that the efforts of Avicenna and all its volunteers are going towards the needs of the community. While at Avicenna I have been able to interact with patients and a wide-variety of health care providers, allowing me to reinforce my perspicacity and communication skills.

I hope to integrate myself into the heath care field in the future, allowing me to give back to the community in the same way the providers do at Avicenna.

Janki Thakkar, BS '16 in MCB, Operations Manager 2015-2016

I began volunteering at Avicenna in 2013 as an Operations volunteer and then an Assistant Operations Manager and will continue to volunteer until I graduate in the spring. I am currently completing my Bachelors of Arts and Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Molecular and Cellular Biology with Minors in both Chemistry and Philosophy.
In the future, I hope to pursue a career in medicine and one day give back to the community in the way our providers do at Avicenna.

Volunteering at Avicenna has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my Undergraduate career. As an aspiring professional, Avicenna has not only helped me strengthen my communication, organization, and analytical skills, but I have also been able to interact with a vast number of passionate health care professionals and students who are dedicated to making a lasting impact on the community. 

Lina Al-Chaar, DMD Candidate, Operations Manager 2013-2015

My journey at Avicenna began in 2012, when I was a freshman at UIUC majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology. I spent about 3 years volunteering and working with Avicenna and my experience was truly amazing. At Avicenna, I have not only learned managerial skills, the importance of a strong work ethics, and public relations skills, but I have learned more about the sanctity of the doctor patient experience, the triumphant feeling after a group of dedicated and diverse individuals solve a complex problem, and the wonders that unique individuals can accomplish when working towards the same goal. I have had the pleasure of interacting with patients, nurses, physicians, nutritionists, pharmacists, and all types of students. All of which have taught me more about what it means to be a dedicated and driven individual. 

Avicenna is not just a patient care facility, but a community that is culturally competent and that cares about respecting and treating diversity with respect. It has given me the opportunity to prepare myself for the next chapter in my life. I am now a dental student at the University of Illinois in Chicago (Class of 2019). In the future, I hope to give back to the community in the same Avicenna does.

Alexander Grohman, MD Candidate, Operations Manager 2012-2014

Past Assistant Operations Managers

Vivek Dave
Aliya Ahsan 

Naima Choudhury
Janki Thakkar
Yasmeen Nadhimi