DONNA MAY KIMMALIARDJUK
Area of Expertise: Medicine
"Don’t be intimidated by your dreams. Just because you don’t know anyone doing what you want to do, doesn’t mean you can’t do it. You can. Work hard, stay humble and be kind to others."
At only 30-years-old, Donna May Kimmaliardjuk is Canada’s first Inuk heart surgeon. She is from Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut, and her inspiration to become a doctor came when she learned at age 6 that her paternal grandfather died from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Kimmaliardjuk grew up in Ottawa and excelled in school, eventually attending Queen’s University to become a surgeon. In 2018 she won the Indspire Award for Inuit Youth and is now leading the way for other Inuit to pursue a medical career.
https://www.flare.com/how-i-made-it/donna-may-kimmaliardjuk/