Shahi Ghani

Atkinson 06 – 11

shahi Ghani

It would be safe to say Mill Hill School made quite a big impact on my life.

I started in nursery and stayed at the school till 6th form. Many of the closest friends I have to this day are people I have known from then.

Throughout school the thing I was most interested in was music. At break time, a couple of my friends and I would go to room 6 in the music department to jam because it had the loudest drum kit in it. We played together all through school and called ourselves Room 6 in respect to the practise room; we thought we were incredibly cool.

Since school I went on to study Biomedical Sciences at university and continued to play with Room 6. It gave my friends an excuse to come down visit my students union and

we had a lot of fun! After I graduated we continued to play and we performed at XOYO and the O2 Academy in Islington. Quite a few of our old teachers from Mill Hill would attend which really meant a lot to us!

In 2017 I decided I would go back to science and started graduate medicine. I am now in my penultimate year of medical school and am enjoying my clinical years. I do miss playing music but I find studying medicine extremely rewarding. Before I started medicine I was told by many people that it would be a very tough job and even doctors tried to talk me out of it.

If I was to give advice to someone considering medicine, I would say that although it may be a lot of work at times, it is a huge privilege, and definitely worth the work.

After medical school I hope to train to become a surgeon as it is one of the areas of medicine I am most interested in. I think the teamwork aspect of being in theatre is quite similar to playing music together with people.

What were you like at school?

I was generally quite well behaved in school. I was never much of a naughty student but I always got told off for chatting too much! I spent most of my time in the music school and most certainly would not have been found anywhere near a sports pitch/court!

The funniest thing that has happened to you recently?

A lot of things happen in medical school which are quite funny…. although it’s hard to think of one which would be appropriate to print! The other day I came to hospital in jeans and a t shirt as I thought we only had tutorials all day . It turned out in the afternoon we had to be in smart clothes for a seminar with patients. I had to think on the spot and went and borrowed some scrubs from the theatres so that I looked vaguely medical. It felt a bit like when you forget to bring clothes for non uniform day.

What has been the most positive thing you have taken from your school days into your adult life?

Enthusiasm for science and music. To this day there are slides that Mr Hughs used to teach biology, that are imprinted into my brain. I really loved biology classes and I really loved chemistry. It was always going to be a good day when the chemistry teachers took out a big bowl of water and a small container of lithium. Or you came in to class and there was a big burette on everyone desk to try and do the titration experiments. I try and look at science with the same enthusiasm that I did those days.

Most inspiring teacher at school and why?

There were lots of inspiring teachers in those days, but if I had to pick one it would be Mr Allain. He was the head of music when I was there. He encouraged me to play music and really gave us every opportunity to perform and be confident playing music. He made us all sing in choir if we played an instrument (which at the time I hated) but looking back on it I learnt a lot from it. I think every head of music gives their heart and soul to the school and its something very special about Mill Hill.

What’s the most interesting thing about you?

I was once in a local newspaper for a photograph I took of my university campus. I think I peaked then.

What is your proudest moment and why?

The day I became Head of House for Atkinson. It really meant a lot to me. When everyone was finding out who became school staff in Lower 6th I knew there were a lot of really incredible people in our house, so I thought my chances were pretty slim. It really meant a lot.

Do you keep in touch with any OMs?

Yeah, Ive been lucky enough to stay in university in London since Mill Hill so I have a lot of the same friends I had since I was in school.

Which four famous people would you invite to a dinner party?

Stevie Wonder, Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson, Van Morrison…. Basically the entire cast who sang ‘We are the World’

Favourite memory from your time at Mill Hill School?

My favourite time at school was during the rehearsals and leads up to the Unplugged concerts which were done to raise money for the Nicaragua partnership. All of the music department would come together and write songs and rehearse for the show and being part of the house band meant you had to get pretty good at reading music. They used to have one every term and we would spend all term working towards a song for it. It definitely was my favourite event at school.

Worst memory from your time at Mill Hill School?

Being out in the freezing cold playing sports in 4th form. I hated it!

If you won £10 million in the lottery, what would you do with the money?

Give every penny to the NHS!

What’s your driving force?

Just being as enthusiastic as I can be about everything. If you can be as excited about what you do as much as the first day you started doing it, you’ll never be bored.

A piece of advice you would pass on to those leaving Mill Hill School?

Don’t let your studies get in the way of your education!