Tommy Akinnawonu

Age: 18
Occupation: Student

WHAT ARE YOU STUDYING AND/OR WHAT ARE YOUR PROFESSIONAL AMBITIONS?

​​I’m a student at Toronto Metropolitan University. I’m currently doing research in combining tangible embodied interactions and genetic data at TMU’s Synaesthetic Media Lab (Synlab). This summer, I will also be completing a medical research internship at McMaster University. I'm hoping to become a genetic counselor and/or a genetic doctor.​ 

WHAT ARE YOUR PASSIONS, INTERESTS, AND HOBBIES?

I like creating digital artwork in my free time, usually in Procreate. I'm also interested in web design. I coded my own personal website and love learning new ways to code. One of my biggest hobbies is fashion and fashion styling. I love dressing up! I'm passionate about all aspects of human sciences and social sciences, mostly genomics, forensics, and psychology. When I'm not doing research in those areas, I participate in race and disability activism. 

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH BRAIN-BASED DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES?

My little brother ​and I are both disabled (twinning!) with brain-based conditions. Blackness has a big role in how our disabilities are perceived, and I'm so happy to be a part of an organization that doesn't tokenize me.​ I hope to make the world more accessible to people like me and my brother.