Building Her Own Global Village

While backpacking through Boston a few years ago, Siti (Sid) Azmi fell in love with Suffolk University and everything the city has to offer.  She decided to leave her home in Singapore for the opportunity of a lifetime.

New Culture

“For me, attending Suffolk has been an experience of self-discovery,” says Azmi, who grew up in poverty, selling cakes made by her mother door-to-door to earn money for her family. “In my culture, it is not common or expected for a woman to want a college education.” 

Academic Success

Azmi, a standout in the classroom, has taken as many as five courses and three labs in one semester as a double major in radiation therapy and developmental psychology.

And as an Archer Fellow, she is part of the College of Arts and Sciences’ honors program for highly motivated, academically promising students. 

Her goal is to attend medical school and then help others.  “Ever since I was 16 years old, I’ve wanted to become a doctor and serve the pediatric population,” says Azmi.

Community Involvement

Azmi is friendly and well known around campus. She works as a Study Group Leader at the Ballotti Learning Center and a MathShop Instructor in the Math Department.   She also has worked at the John Joseph Moakley Institute and the Mildred F. Sawyer Library. 

As part of her degree program, she interns as a radiation therapist at Massachusetts General Hospital.  She also volunteers once a week at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.

Continual Growth

Azmi talks with her parents in Singapore daily and with her friends back home on the weekends, expressing how delighted she is in her new country.

“Being here gives me the hope of achieving anything that I set my heart on,” says Siti Azmi, “and I’ve never been happier.”