Abeer
Abeer Almassri
is a Palestinian student from Gaza and a STEPS scholar who came to her studies while grieving the loss of her father and brother, carrying her late father's pride in her award with her throughout the year. With a background in Medical Laboratory Sciences, she took on the challenge of an MSc in Health Data Science with no prior programming experience, going on to apply machine learning and deep learning to healthcare problems — including using deep learning for breast cancer detection in her dissertation.In her own words:
The STEPS Scholarship was not just an educational opportunity for me; it meant far more than that. It was a chance to rebuild a future that had been shattered by the war, and to bring hope back to my family after everything they had endured through war and loss.This opportunity was also a dream of my late father. I still remember his happiness and pride when I was awarded the scholarship. Sadly, he was not able to see me begin this journey or reach this point, but his happiness at that moment has stayed with me throughout it.
This academic year has not been easy at all. I have had to continue my studies while carrying the pain of losing my father and my brother, alongside the constant worry about my family and the ongoing situation in Gaza. There were moments when everything felt overwhelming and I questioned whether I had the strength to continue. Whenever I felt weak, I reminded myself of the promise I had made: that I would keep going and do everything I could to make my father and brother proud of me and of my success, just as they always were. I also reminded myself that I had to keep going for my mother and my siblings in Gaza, and that my success could bring them hope after everything they had been through.
For me, completing this year is therefore about much more than earning a degree. It represents resilience, hope, and the possibility of rebuilding after loss. The STEPS Scholarship gave me the chance to continue moving forward when my future had become deeply uncertain. It allowed me to develop academically and professionally, but more importantly, it gave me something to hold onto and work towards.
Coming from a background in Medical Laboratory Sciences, studying Health Data Science was a completely new challenge for me. I started this journey with no previous programming experience and had to learn many computational skills from the beginning. Although this was challenging, it became one of the most rewarding parts of my experience. By the end of the year, I was able to apply programming, data analysis, machine learning, and deep learning to healthcare problems, including using deep learning for breast cancer detection in my MSc dissertation. Looking back at where I started and how much I have learned makes me proud of what I have achieved through this opportunity.
This experience has also given me a clearer vision for my future. I hope to continue developing my career in health data science, either by pursuing a PhD or by finding a role where I can combine my biomedical background with the computational skills I have gained. Whichever path I take, I want to continue learning and use my knowledge and experience to contribute meaningfully to healthcare and research.
I will always be grateful for the STEPS Scholarship and for everyone who made this journey possible. Its impact on my life cannot be measured only by the education I received. It gave me the opportunity to rebuild, to keep the dreams of my father and brother with me, and to continue believing that even after profound loss, there can still be a future worth working towards.