Hi, I'mErfan

Two years after immigrating to Canada, I found myself contributing to AI and software systems at one of the world's leading rehabilitation research institutes, building tools used across real patient sessions, competing among Canada's strongest mathematics and computing students, and earning opportunities I once considered impossible.

When my family immigrated to Canada, we had to rebuild our lives in a new country while my parents restarted their careers. I entered an unfamiliar education system alongside students who had spent their entire lives growing within it. That created a gap, and I became determined to close it as quickly as I could.

In a remarkably short period, I qualified among top national mathematics and computing competitors, received more than $120,000 in scholarship offers from the University of Toronto, and earned the $25,000 University of Waterloo Faculty of Mathematics Global Scholarship, awarded to only ten students worldwide. I ultimately turned down both to pursue Computer Science at McMaster University, where I now hold a 4.0/4.0 GPA and have earned $239,000 CAD in merit-based entrance, research and excellence awards.

What matters most to me, however, is not the numbers. Those achievements proved something to me: even with uncertainty, financial pressure, unfamiliarity and the challenge of starting over, opportunities that once felt out of reach were still possible. Each milestone became proof that obstacles did not have to define the ceiling of what I could achieve.

Before beginning university, I worked at the KITE Research Institute at University Health Network, where I built an audio and video recording system used in real patient sessions, and contributed to an AI platform for sleep apnea screening alongside senior researchers and University of Toronto faculty. Seeing something I helped build move beyond my laptop and become part of real research changed the way I thought about technology.

I realized that what excites me most is not simply building advanced models. It is creating something that makes a tangible difference in people's lives. I want to work on AI that is useful, trusted and meaningful, where research becomes something real and where the impact can actually be felt.

Today, I continue that pursuit as a Machine Learning Research Assistant at McMaster. I keep seeking environments where the problems are difficult, the standards are high, and the people around me force me to become better. I want to work alongside exceptional people, contribute to ambitious AI, and build technology whose impact extends beyond the model itself to the people who ultimately depend on it.