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From the shadows of war into the light of healing

For Zerina Rahic (Class of 2028), the dream of becoming a doctor has never been just a career goal. It is a calling, born in the quiet streets of Bosnia and Herzegovina where echoes of war still hung in the air long after the last gunfire had faded.

She did not witness the conflict herself, but its shadow lingered everywhere. Her childhood was threaded with stories of loss from family members, teachers, and neighbours who had buried loved ones too soon. The country’s fragile healthcare system, still staggering under the weight of its wounds, could not meet the complex needs of post-war populations. In this place, illness was met with resignation, and pain was something people learned to carry in silence.

For Zerina, it was impossible to look away. This normalization of pain and systemic neglect shaped her understanding of medicine as a discipline rooted not only in treatment, but in trust; how doctors play a role in re-establishing healthcare as a human right, especially in communities shaped by conflict. She began to see medicine not only as a science but as an act of restoration, a way to return dignity and hope to people.

Her family recognized that spark. Though they could not offer much resources, they gave her something more enduring: belief.

Zerina (front left) with her parents and her two younger sisters in 2024.

At just 16, armed with little more than courage and her parents’ faith, she left home on a full scholarship to study in Switzerland. Two years later, she would walk the halls of NYU Abu Dhabi, another scholarship opening a door she had once thought locked.

A proud moment: Zerina’s parents witnessing her graduation from NYU Abu Dhabi with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology.

“My family has consistently supported my choices, reminding me that my journey had a purpose,” said Zerina. “And I’ve always remembered my father’s reminder:  Your knowledge is your power, no one can take that away from you.”

That single sentence became her compass through years of academic rigour, moments of doubt, and the gnawing ache of distance from home.

Alongside her academic journey, Zerina immersed herself in community service across different causes and organizations. With the Education for All initiative and the Special Needs Adaptive Program (SNAP), she became a steady presence for children with autism, Down Syndrome, and other conditions, designing activities and sports that helped them build focus, resilience, and communication skills. At the mental health institution Mensana in Sarajevo, she walked daily with war survivors, listening to stories heavy with grief but also threaded with endurance. As a Red Cross volunteer, she handed food and clothing to flood victims, campaigned for blood donations, and organised marathons to support cancer patients.

At Duke-NUS, Zerina is part of the Paediatric Brain Solid Tumour Awareness (PBSTA) team which raises awareness of this medical condition in Singapore. On 12 January 2025, PBSTA organized an excursion to Gardens by the Bay where students like Zerina helped young patients and their families create memories and make new friends through icebreaker activities and bottle decorating workshop.

Her most defining test came during the early days of COVID-19 in Abu Dhabi. As a frontline volunteer in a massive pre-symptomatic screening effort, she faced participants gripped with fear, not just of the virus but of what a diagnosis might mean for their families and livelihoods.

“It became clear that medicine is as much about listening as it is about treating,” she says. “Compassion is active. You meet people where they are, especially in their uncertainty.”

Now, at Duke-NUS in Singapore, Zerina is fusing her scientific expertise with her human-centered vision of care. Her research in developmental genetics fuels her ambition to pioneer treatments for prenatal disorders, to intervene early and transform lives before they even begin. But she is just as committed to the bedside as to the laboratory.

Zerina (middle) and her classmates perform virtual dissection of the human body using the cutting-edge Anatomage table.

Supported by the Duke-NUS Bursary, Zerina works with the same resolve that has carried her across continents and through years of separation from her family. For her, the award is more than financial aid. It is a door to her lifelong aspiration of becoming a doctor, a vote of confidence that deepens her resolve to give back through dedicated service and clinical excellence.

In every step of her journey, Zerina embodies a truth often lost in the sterility of medical charts and research abstracts: healing begins with seeing people, wholly and without reservation. That kind of vision will one day define her as a doctor who heals with knowledge and compassion.

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Championing students like Zerina go beyond supporting Duke-NUS students. It is an investment in the future of compassionate healthcare professionals who value empathy, service, and global responsibility.

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