York Chemistry Student Shortlisted for Yorkshire Asian Young Achiever Awards

Ruhee is one of 33 shortlisted candidates for awards across 12 Categories in the YAYA Awards, which were set up in 2020 to recognise and celebrate the efforts of young people aged 16-30 of South Asian heritage, born or living and working in Yorkshire. Ruhee’s nomination is in the category, “Achievement in School or College”, seeking candidates who “show others just what can be achieved by application, hard work and determination”. Herand her story perfectly fits the brief.  

Of Indian origin, and born and brought up in Kenya, Ruhee was awarded a Sharifah Sofia Albukhary Scholarship to study Chemistry at the University of York and despite the challenges of graduating in the year of the pandemic, she graduated at the top of her year. She was also awarded the Department’s Whinfield Medal for her achievements. Ruhee then won a further scholarship, a Chemistry Wild Fund Platinum Award, to fund her PhD at York in the Molecular Energy Materials group led by Dr Alyssa-Jennifer Avestro.  

Speaking about her studies, Ruhee said, “I wanted to be challenged into the creation of new knowledge and I wanted to focus on how this new knowledge can be of a benefit to people by designing chemical systems that can be applied to real life scenarios, for example enhancing battery life through chemistry.”

While excelling in her academic work, Ruhee recognises the importance of role models and in giving back to the wider community. She serves as a mentor in the STEMi Women Kuongoza Program, which seeks to empower women and girls across the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. 

“It can be very hard to consistently perform at your highest level without having a role model who understands your circumstances and helps you overcome the barriers you are faced with to be successful. I was very lucky to find a role model during my undergraduate degree to inspire the best out of me and to support me through my PhD and scholarship applications. Now I hope to return the favour and I have taken up active mentorship roles to encourage and support international students from ethnic minority groups to pursue studies in STEM subjects by helping them lower barriers for themselves.” 

One of Ruhee’s mentees from Nigeria has been inspired to pursue further studies in the USA and Ruhee has also supported a student from India in a successful application for the same PhD scholarship as her own.

Having served as the undergraduate representative in the Department’s Equality and Diversity group, Ruhee is now  postgraduate representative. She has recently contributed to Chemistry’s efforts to decolonise the curriculum through co-authoring a paper in the ACS Journal of Chemical Education along with senior professors including Chemistry’s Head of Department Prof. Caroline Dessent. Through contributing to the Department’s Equality and Diversity goals, Ruhee hopes to inspire changes which might level the playing field for all who wish to pursue an academic career. 

The winners of the YAYA Awards, which will also include an overall “YAYA of the Year” winner, will be announced to a live audience at the Cedar Court Hotel in Bradford on Thursday, November 4. Live streaming begins at 18.30, to watch online, visit: YAYA Awards Livestream