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Brenda Lane
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New Coach's Corner!!
To celebrate International Women's Day, I would like to introduce my latest guest coach for Coach's Corner, Dr. Nirupa Shah. Dr. Shah is an esteemed neurologist, whose work with epilepsy patients has been groundbreaking. Having been raised in apartheid South Africa, as a woman of color, her journey was filled with challenges, not the least of which was the murder by police whilst in custody of her medical school classmate, Steven Biko. Her life of activism and the fight for human rights and dignity has co existed alongside her career as a doctor studying the non-discriminatory human brain. She is also a mother, and an art aficionado, a yoga practitioner and a brilliantly well read conversationalist. Another unicorn in our midst.
Read her words and be inspired. Grateful.
BL: Did you have a goal for your life when you were a young person?
NS: I grew up in South Africa (SA) under the apartheid regime’s “Separate and Unequal” policy, meaning that my life choices were impacted by living in a racially segregated society. Young people of color had very limited access to resources outside of academic pursuits and we did not have the freedom to explore outside our community. As a solidly middle-class person of Indian origin, I was forced to attend an “Indian school”, live in areas reserved for Indian people and only permitted by law to socialize within that community. The law forced dreams or aspirations to be colored in black or white, forgive the pun. As you may imagine this was not fertile ground to set goals.
But there is a flip side to being constrained by limited choices. It invited me to explore ways to stretch boundaries. I took the limited choices to be an invitation to set my own life path and capture the opportunities of living in those times.
Broadly, my goal was to define my own life path, not to be held captive by boundaries set by the ruling regime or my parents. I socialized with all race groups (breaking the law), joined youth groups working toward political freedom (breaking laws that went against basic human rights made sense), took a gap year and spent it in the US and travelling abroad. I was fortunate to meet people with a much broader perspective on life and explore the arts and sport that SA did not permit. And yes, I eventually went to medical school. It was expected of me and I knew it was where I would have the greatest impact.
BL: Did you have a mentor?
NS: Yes I had several mentors. In high school my school principal took a keen interest in mentoring me. He was a visionary educator and one of a kind in a country that was literally burning in the late ‘70’s. Fortunately for me he also saw the need to change the aspirations of young women and youth leadership. He helped me identify opportunities rather than labelling my decision to defy rules about what I could and could not do as being a rebel. He mentored me to see that as a young woman I had the potential to excel in math and science (ended up being the only woman among the top 10 graduating students in the country in my year), to identify inter-racial student groups that I collaborated with, and to become the first person of color to get a rotary exchange scholarship.
I had several mentors during medical school. I went to the “Black” medical school as dictated by the law. It was the medical school that Steve Biko attended, and hence the university that spearheaded the struggle against apartheid. I had peer mentors who led the struggle against apartheid. These were both exhilarating and dangerous times. Many of our student leaders were arrested and others exiled. Fortunately, this story too had a good ending. My peers have become ministers of health, lead medical research in the country and guide national health policy. I also had academic mentors that helped me set up the first state of the art epilepsy center in SA.
I think that the story would be incomplete without saying that I returned the gratitude of having life changing mentors by also mentoring others.
BL: How do you get inspired?
NS: People, causes, and hobbies inspire me.
The people that stand tall in my life are Steve Biko, Nelson Mandela and many thought leaders in my fields of practice (neurology and global health). My children who survived and are thriving after a disruptive migration from SA to the US. They made the move at a very vulnerable point in their lives and never cease to amaze me with their spirit and ideas. The women of color leaders I mentor in Seattle that work with marginalized, minority communities are a constant source of inspiration. They work tirelessly to demonstrate that minority means fewer and not lesser when it comes to competing for resources and fighting for equity. They are refugees, immigrants, women of color or in the gender spectrum working to change root causes in the fight for health, social and climate justice. They are simply awesome in the way they have achieved so much with so little.
I think you can spot the theme in these people and their causes. They rise above adversity, are not defined by limitations, and see the opportunity to make a big impact for the communities they serve.
I have a type of visuospatial dyslexia. For the first 20 years of my life, I was called clumsy and had no idea what was wrong with me. It puzzled me why I could not have prima ballerina on my ambition list. Perhaps that is why I became a neurologist. This type of dyslexia manifests with R/L disorientation, depth perception errors and difficulties navigating movement in space. The career I chose leveraged neuroplasticity. My job entailed locating brain pathology, not always visible on scans, which when removed rendered patients with refractory epilepsy, seizure free. It inspires me everyday to know that I can change my brain to receive new information and use it to make things happen.
On that note its why I spend my free time dancing and with art. I ‘ve been exploring jazz, tap and Latin dancing. A thought bubble here, imagine dancing with someone that is constantly navigating movement in space, watch those toes!. I am not wearing the crown of a dancing queen, but it inspires me to keep trying.
To refresh and rejuvenate, I hike. All it takes is to put one foot in front of the other (thank goodness), and I feel immersed in serene beauty and tranquility.
Is the life your living the life you imagined?
No is the short answer. I left behind my networks, all that I built and my greater family and friend circles in SA. These cannot be replicated. It takes time to build anew. We’ve worked hard at integrating into the NW but it is very different to what we were used to. I often find myself asking what is there not to love about where I am now? Honestly not much, but there is something about feeling familiar and grounded that I will always miss, I suppose.
What do you do when you encounter obstacles? (In work, in life) How do you create resiliency when life is hard?
Being a woman of color in an apartheid society meant that the cards were stacked against me from the get-go. The head of obstetrics fired me when I was 5 months pregnant and beginning to show. If firing was not enough of a blow he wagged his finger at me saying this is why they hesitated to train women.
I learned the art of reframing and adapting from a very young age. Rising above adversity has been my mantra. Knowing when to play the short or long game was another big factor in becoming resilient. Identifying my trump card and holding it until I am ready to play it has won the day more often than making an impulsive choice for short term gratification.
However, it’s easier said than done. Knowing that life is a journey that holds many turns, roundabouts and pendulums has helped me past difficult moments. It takes grit and courage, but it also takes a good sense of humor. Never take things personally (I did when I was fired, and it set me back a few years). Know the context within which you are making decisions and go for what makes your heart sing.
If I had to pick one thing to say among all the ways I’ve led my life it would be: Be the creator of your own abundance of opportunities especially when it feels most constrained by the world around you. You are the author of your own life story. Live it with confidence but always feel that there is room for growth. There’s nothing more exciting than feeling that you are not there yet no matter your age.
What advice would you give your 20 something self?
Find balance, breathe more often, laugh more often, always be kind (not necessarily nice). Respect your shadow self. It is powerful and can dominate if given the opportunity. Never say never.