Liwei Zhou - taking pride in making a difference

Pride is important to Liwei Zhou, a fourth-year BMSc student. For the past two years she has been involved in queer and trans awareness and outreach in both London and Toronto.  

Participating in pride parades, workshops and serving as the Director of Gender Diversity and Awareness with PrideWestern, Zhou says she has come across a need in the community to remove barriers to health care.

“Trans people often identify with a gender other than the one in their medical records,” she explained. “This means that sometimes they don’t get the understanding or care they need from the system.” Zhou is empowered by her work in giving back to the community.

“Connecting with the queer and trans community gives me great motivation and makes me feel like I can make a difference in the medical profession,” she said.