Forced to leave school without completing her A-levels due to the onset of epileptic seizures, Isabella Ghawi enrolled on a Certificate of Higher Education at Birkbeck before going on to achieve a first class in her Bachelor’s in Biomedicine in 2020.

She faced significant ill health and was supported by the College’s disability service throughout her studies for her epilepsy, a brain tumour and dyslexia. She has praised the academic and disability service staff for ensuring she was able to continue studying: “With the help of all those people, I was able to continue and not just able to continue, but to really excel and exceed my expectations despite many difficulties.”

Isabella also founded the Birkbeck Biological Society, a special interest student academic group.