Makayla and Mia Makhlouf
From her first day on campus, Mia Makhlouf had high standards to live up to. Luckily, she has an excellent role model in her sister, Makayla.
Makayla graduated with a Bachelor of Science in biology in 2025. During her time as a student, Makayla was an active volunteer in student societies, organizing the first Science Gala at Saint Mary’s in November 2024—her first time managing a large event. She found sponsors, managed ticket sales, booked space, sourced decorations and many other details that made it a successful event for upwards of 150 students. She followed that success by landing a position as the Human Resources Volunteer Coordinator at the Magnetic World Music Festival, where she coordinated 100 people each day of the three-day festival in downtown Halifax.
Mia is following in her sister’s footsteps—she is currently in her second year of a Bachelor of Science with a Diploma in Engineering while maintaining a busy extracurricular schedule.
Along with her role as the Engineering Society’s Vice President of Media, Mia works part-time at an engineering company. She was a three-time gold medalist in public speaking with Skills Nova Scotia before returning as a coach. Her public speaking skills have also made her a valuable member of Enactus Saint Mary’s, a student-led entrepreneurial community focused on making a positive impact in their communities. She joined Enactus on Makayla's recommendation, and it has been the highlight of her time at SMU.
“One of the best things that I have done was join not just Enactus, but an extracurricular in general,” says Mia. “It can be easy to feel burnt out when you just have schoolwork all the time; being part of something else can feel like you’re accomplishing something.”
“... being part of something else can feel like you’re accomplishing something. It can also open your eyes to so many more opportunities and show you what you can do with your degree and what change you can create—like environmental or societal change.”
Mia was a presenter on the national Enactus team at Saint Mary’s that won the 2025 Enactus World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand—an incredible recognition for their two student-run social enterprises, Alaagi and Square Roots. Mia’s background in public speaking began as a student at École Secondaire du Sommet, a French high school in Halifax. Her ability to apply her engineering and scientific knowledge to entrepreneurship is a key skill that allows the team to share their businesses with international judges.
Mia delivered an award-winning presentation at the Enactus World Cup in September 2025
“I didn't always realize what an important skill public speaking would be,” says Mia. “Being around my engineering peers who are very technically minded, they have such great ideas, but when it comes to presenting them, that's the hard part.”
“To explain something clearly, you must really understand it,” she says, adding that “textbook learning is one thing, but to be able to translate that into something that anyone can understand—and potentially buy into—is a real skill that's extremely valuable.”
Those public speaking skills are ones she can share with younger students. As an alumnus of the Skills Nova Scotia program, she competed at the national level for three years, delivering speeches on the value of skilled trades and technologies. She’s now a mentor and coach for high school students and will take a provincial gold medal student to the nationals.
“It was honestly better than ever winning anything to see someone that I worked with succeed…I feel like I found my calling,” says Mia.
Why Saint Mary’s?
The sisters have a family connection to the university—their aunt and uncle, Nali and Dr. Fred George, are cherished members of the Saint Mary’s community and generous donors who established scholarships in entrepreneurship and geology/business studies. Beyond that, they chose Saint Mary’s for its small classes and connected campus.
Mia loves that she got to know her professors, whose flexibility allowed her to work around Enactus competitions. The ability to take spring and summer courses also made it easier to maintain her busy schedule.
Makayla agrees, adding that she appreciates Saint Mary’s size, knowing that in the future, she’ll move to a much larger school. Makayla has been working toward becoming a doctor since high school; she is now busy studying for the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT), which she’ll take in the spring.
Choosing a career
Both Makayla and Mia have been working towards STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields since grade school and have mastered being well-rounded students, combining education, extracurriculars and supporting their family. They are multilingual, speaking English, French and Arabic.
“I knew that whatever field I wanted to go into, I wanted to create something of my own, whether that was interior design or fashion design,” says Mia. “I chose engineering not because I excelled at math or science, but because it challenged me. There are so many different pathways and opportunities that you can do once you're an engineer, like industry work, research or go more into entrepreneurship or leadership roles.”
Makayla’s microscopic artwork was featured in the SMU Science calendar in 2025
Makayla, who majored in biology, has aspired to study medicine for as long as she can remember. She began building a solid resume to achieve that goal while in high school, and her persistence in contacting doctors led to landing two 80-hour co-op positions in plastic surgery and physiotherapy through Nova Scotia’s O2 (Options and Opportunities) program.
“It’s a great way to see if the career you’re thinking about is the right one for you,” said Makayla, adding that she enjoyed being able to watch surgeries and meet medical students.
Makayla comes by her interest in healthcare—and community service—honestly. Their parents met when they were both volunteers with the Lebanese Red Cross in Batroun, near Beirut in northern Lebanon, before emigrating to Canada in 2000.
Their parents’ commitment to service, first through the Lebanese Red Cross and later through building a life and business in Halifax, continues to shape the sisters’ outlook and guide them as they look ahead.
As Makayla prepares for the next step toward medical school and Mia continues to balance engineering studies with leadership and mentoring, both are carrying that perspective forward. At Saint Mary’s, they found a campus where they could challenge themselves, try new things and grow into their own paths while staying grounded in the values that brought their family here in the first place.