The Sullivan Heights Dental scholarship is awarded to a local Surrey graduating student who has strong grades in sciences and will be pursuing a post-secondary education. Each recipient receives $500 and is chosen by their school. 

We’d like to introduce you to Eesha Rehman, one of this year’s recipients of the Sullivan Heights Dental Scholarship! This is the second year that we’ve had two scholarships, one for each of our local high schools. Eesha graduated in June from Sullivan Heights Secondary and coincidentally is a patient of our clinic.

Dr. Himmat Bajwa had a chance to chat with her about high school and her university plans when she came into our Surrey dental office this summer.

The interview has been edited for brevity.

How would you describe your high school experience at Sullivan?

I had a really good time. Going into high school I was super nervous. I was the eldest sibling so I didn’t have anyone to ask, ‘How was this class?’ or ‘How‘s this teacher?’. I was really nervous but overall it was a really good experience. I met some really good people, made some really good friends, took some really fun courses.

How many siblings do you have?

I have two younger siblings, my sister is entering grade 10 and my brother is entering grade 6.

Did you have any favourite subjects in high school?

This year I really enjoyed chemistry. I always liked it . . this year I had Mr. Edwards – I’m sure you’ve heard of him – and he really made the subject much more fun for me. He’s just a very engaging, friendly teacher. His lessons are always very fun. I especially enjoyed the way he taught it and also appreciated how dedicated he was to his job. He was always willing to help, and I was never afraid to ask him for help.

What will you miss the most from your time at Sullivan?

I think I’ll just miss seeing my friends everyday. It’s only been a few weeks of summer but I’ve noticed that it’s hard to stay in touch with people that I used to see every day. I’m going to miss going to my classes with my friends, seeing them at lunch.

Who was your most influential teacher, Mr Edwards?

Yes. This year I also had Mr. Lucas, he’s one of the math teachers. He’s quite challenging – I had him all year long for pre-calc and calculus – but he really pushes you and I learned a lot in his classes as well. He was the teacher that taught me a lot.

Did you participate in any extracurricular activities?

I was a part of my school’s Global Issues Club for two years, I joined in grade eleven and this year I was on the executive team. . .two of my friends were also on the executive team so that was really fun to be in the club together.

But of course with COVID there wasn’t too much that we could do, especially last year – so we had a bottle drive, a clothing drive, an Earth Day cahoot. We didn’t do much, but we did have meetings, made presentations, Instagram posts, and stuff like that.

What are your plans now that you’ve graduated?

In the fall I’ll be going to SFU and right now I’m in the chemistry program. I just did my course selection yesterday.

Now that there’s a Surrey campus and Burnaby campus, are you going to the Surrey one?

Right now all my sciences for the first semester are at the Surrey campus, maybe the second semester as well. But I’ve heard that once you get into your second year, you have to start going to the Burnaby campus.

Do you have a career goal in mind?

I’m interested – after finishing my degree – in doing two more years and getting a Masters. Also I want to get involved in a research career.  I really enjoyed the labs that we did in high school . .I’ve always wanted a career in a lab.

What are your summer plans?

Right now I’m actually working a part-time job at Menchee’s Frozen Yogurt. . . this summer I hope to work a bit, make some money, just spend some time with my family and friends. Especially my friends, before we all go our separate ways and get busy with school. Just relax too!

Will you be working part-time during university too?

As of now, I want to continue working but I’ll see once I get into the course load. Maybe I’ll shorten my availability, or maybe I’ll just have to leave altogether. But I hope it works out.

A big congratulations to Eesha! Meet our other scholarship recipient, Mani Batth.