Lubna Saleh ’12: Creating Change

This story appeared in the Spring 2022 Dominican Magazine.



The way Lubna Saleh ’12 sees it, challenging life experiences typically affect people in one of two ways: they either go into hiding or get fired up to create change.



Lubna counts herself in the latter category. When her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, Lubna was inspired to study nutrition and dietetics to help people stay healthy. And when her son was born with congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a life-threatening condition that affects a baby’s ability to breathe, she turned to a career in public health.



“I realized that if I had a degree in public health, I could make a greater impact,” Lubna says. “It’s a field where I can use my voice and my experiences to continue addressing disparities in vulnerable communities.”



Today, Lubna is studying public health at the University of  Michigan with the help of a scholarship from the Fore Hadley  Foundation, an organization that supports people affected by CDH. As for her son, he’s two and a half years old and in great health. “He is a living, breathing, walking miracle,” Lubna says.