Through leadership, volunteerism and AUC’s premedical track, Yousef Taha prepares for a medical career grounded in empathy and advocacy
Biology and premedical track junior Yousef Taha was inspired to pursue a career in medicine after witnessing an open-heart surgery during a career day at the end of seventh grade.
“Seeing a heart leave the human body and the body still remain alive was breathtaking,” Taha said. Coming from a family of doctors, the experience solidified his decision to pursue cardiac surgery.
Since then, Taha has built a holistic education in science, civic engagement and community building at AUC with the goal of becoming a physician who not only treats patients but also champions their needs. “For me, medicine is not just about the operating room; it's also about the advocacy that comes with medicine,” Taha emphasized.
Originally from Jordan, Taha transferred to AUC after conflict prevented him from continuing his studies at the American University of Beirut. A Tomorrow’s Leaders Scholarship to AUC made the difference, enabling him to invest himself in the student community.
“I was learning what shaped their lives long before an illness brought them through a clinic door”
Taha served as vice president of the Al-Quds Club, where he established a dabkeh team, and as vice president of the Biology Association, leading committees and coordinating events. He also took part in the Ramadan packs campaign, a collaboration among 29 student organizations that provided food to 3,500 families across Egypt.
His experiences also extend beyond campus, from clinical work to global opportunities. Taha spent summers interning in the operating room at Jordan Hospital in Amman, Jordan, and traveled to New York City with AUC’s Cairo International Model United Nations team. In 2025, Taha and his co-delegate, political science senior Hussein Sherif, received the Best Position Paper award at the National Model United Nations conference held at the UN headquarters in New York. “If it wasn’t for the clubs I’ve been a part of at AUC, I wouldn’t have had such a chance,” Taha said.
During a Fall 2025 study-abroad semester at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, Taha volunteered weekly at the Health Commons in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, delivering food packages to 130 families. The experience showed him how housing instability, food insecurity and other social challenges affect health even before patients enter a clinic. “I was learning what shaped their lives long before an illness brought them through a clinic door,” Taha explained.
He and a friend are developing an AI agent that books appointments, gathers patient information and answers after-hours calls. The goal is to help physicians prepare for appointments while creating a smoother experience for patients.
As he looks ahead to medical school, Taha hopes to bring a globally informed perspective of compassionate care to every community he serves.
“From Jordan to Beirut, Cairo and the U.S., each station in my last four years shaped my identity and strengthened my desire to serve communities whose struggles I understand. Medicine is where I hope to bring together that desire to give back, my love of learning and my commitment to meeting people with both knowledge and compassion,” Taha said.