Before college, Raima attended Hunter College High School from 7th through 12th grade. Raima is highly involved in her school community. She is an active member of the Muslim Student Association and has helped organize a joint cultural show with the Middle Eastern North African Club that celebrates cultural identity through performances. She also writes for the Opinions and News section of her school newspaper, The Observer, where she explores social and cultural issues affecting students and the wider community. In addition, Raima mentors younger students and works with middle schoolers through her school’s Big Sib program, helping guide them academically and personally.
Raima has participated in several academic and career exploration programs related to medicine and science. She took part in the MetPALS program, a four-week hospital immersion program that included rotations through departments such as pathology, pediatrics, peri-operative care, pharmacy, and radiology. Through this experience, she attended lectures by physicians and gained hands-on exposure to clinical skills such as drawing blood and administering vaccines.
Beyond structured programs, Raima actively seeks opportunities to explore research and innovation. She has developed independent research interests at the intersection of neuroscience and biomedical engineering and is currently working on designing research proposals and long-term projects. One of her major research interests focuses on sensory integration therapies and emotional regulation in adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder, particularly exploring how daily sensory activities can support long-term emotional and neurological development. She is also currently working on a meta-analysis examining the role of memantine on patients with traumatic brain injury with research fellows affiliated with Dr. Al-Mufti at Westchester Medical Center.
In terms of academics, Raima took classes such as AP Chemistry, for which he scored a 5/5, AP French, for which she scored a 4/5, AP Biology, BC Calculus, and Honors Medical Physiology. She received a 790 on her DSAT Math score and a 750 on her DSAT Reading and Writing score.
Raima is very familiar with the SAT, SHSAT, PSAT, and Hunter Test. She has extensive experience tutoring, including math tutoring for the nonprofit Girls are Great at Math and SAT tutoring for Schoolhouse.world. She works well with students across a variety of ages and settings and is very passionate about teaching. In her free time, Raima loves to try new cuisines and binge-watch horror movies.