Caring, talented, trustworthy, compassionate, selfless.

These are the words that best describe Fatima Baig, a brilliant person and journalist, who died Sunday, Nov 28, 2021 after complications from a colonoscopy.

Fatima’s light and heart were massive. She was a two-time liver transplant recipient and an advocate for organ donation. She was also a proud recent graduate of the Bachelor of Journalism program at Humber College.

Her family issued a tweet that described her as a fighter.

“In and out of hospitals her entire life. Went through two liver transplants. Her life mission was to advocate for organ donations so others can have a second chance,” the tweet said.

“Fatima put everyone else’s interests above hers,” said Clement Goh, good friend and former classmate of Fatima, and senior writer and VR editor at CGMagazine, in an interview with Humber News.

“She would set aside a lot of her own struggles, to make sure that everyone around her was okay,” Goh said, recalling the four years he spent side-by-side with Baig, walking the Humber corridors.

Siobhan Moore, one of her journalism professors, recalled Baig’s determination and skill. “When she started interviewing she was fearless and tenacious and her questions questions were well-worded,” Moore said in an interview with Humber News. “She was a wonderful person and we were all so lucky to have known her.”

Baig was able to take her story of being a two-time liver transplant recipient and share her struggles in her book, Fatima’s Journey.

She also gave numerous interviews, sharing her story in hopes of inspiring people facing similar challenges.

Goh said Baig was not a person who shied away from telling her story “if that meant that someone could listen, and someone could be inspired to become an organ donor, or to live their life to the fullest, which is exactly what she told me in different ways for the past four years we spent together.”

Baig also volunteered with Operation SMILE, writing stories for children with disabilities, and had recently started working at Muslim Sources.

So many people were deeply saddened by the news of Fatima’s passing, describing her as an example of perseverance and kindness, and the type of friend who always advised the importance of finding balance in life, who could be counted on for help with school work or who would cheer up others through texts and memes. Fatima was the type of person who people felt lucky to have known.

Family friend and community leader Taha Ghayyur wrote about what he saw as her legacy. "You may be faced with adversity, but you can choose to respond with a positive attitude," Ghayyur wrote on Facebook. "You may live a short life, but you can choose to leave a legacy whose impact outlives you."

Please join us in honouring the extraordinary life of Fatima with a donation to help establish the Fatima Baig Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship will support a journalism student from an equity-deserving group who displays many of the admirable characteristics of Fatima.