Exonian Profiles
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Working to improve the lives of others is at the center of Taj Mustapha’s life. But this kind of leadership and activism weren’t always easy for Mustapha, a member of the class of ’91. In fact, she says the journey—which has taken her from Exeter to City Year, the national service program for young people; to Stanford University; to co-founding an outreach organization for homeless youth; and now on to medical school—“started as a logical progression from English teacher David Weber’s classroom.” “Before I took his course,” she recalls, “I rarely spoke in class. I was more of a receptacle and less of a participator. That changed when Mr. Weber was teaching Thoreau and the concept of how one might affect change in the world. We discussed injustices that need to be resolved and some ways to participate as a citizen in resolving them. Those ideas were huge sparks for me.” A few years later Taj found herself passing those sparks along. “I wrote Mr. Weber a few years ago to tell him about one of the kids I was working with on the street. This particular kid saw himself as a ‘gutterpunk.’ Though it had been a childhood filled with poverty, abuse and neglect that had landed him on the streets, like so many kids he refused to see himself as a victim. He lived trying not to propagate the injustices he had suffered, but because of his past, he thought the only way he could live conscientiously was outside of mainstream society. Needless to say, this view limited his life options tremendously. While counseling him, I remembered the value of the ideas presented to me in Mr. Weber’s class, and decided to introduce this kid to Thoreau. He and I would sit on the curb on Market Street—a lanky 17-year old boy with a shaved head, dressed in steel spikes and leather, and me—discussing ‘Civil Disobedience.’ Through those conversations I watched him realize ways that he might ‘live deliberately’ and affect change by participating in society. This kid who lived in a tent under a bridge now writes for a major San Francisco weekly.” When Taj talks about her work with street kids she is referring to her outreach efforts with homeless youth on the streets of San Francisco. In 1997 she co-founded At The Crossroads, whose mission is to reach out to homeless youth and young adults at their point of need and to help them build healthy and fulfilling lives. Through that work she became increasingly aware of the tremendous barrier that inadequate health care creates for these young people who are trying to succeed. Though she felt passionate about the work of At The Crossroads, she realized that her personal interests were directing her toward a role in health care. She entered medical school in 2001, and has just completed her first year at the University of California, San Francisco. “As a physician,” she says, “you have a lot more access and can provide a lot more services directly.” But medicine has its drawbacks too, she adds: it can remove students from the circumstances in which their patients live. “Sometimes social workers have a tough time getting physicians and others to care about the clients they are working with,” she says. “I hope that I will eventually be the kind of physician that social workers can turn to.” But right now she is really enjoying medical school. “It is a lot lower stress than running a non-profit,” she says with a laugh. “All you have to do is learn really cool and interesting things.” Though she is unclear what specialty she will pursue, she is enthusiastic about a future in medicine. “I’m excited to give people concrete tools to help them live healthier lives, and, I hope to play a role in increasing the accessibility of health care to those who need it most.” —Julie Quinn |
