Pre-Health Shadowing · Published by PHS, Inc. · 501(c)(3)

Heroes Behind
the Mask

Thirty healthcare professionals. One pandemic. The untold stories of those who showed up when the world shut down — written by students, built by volunteers.

Buy the Book Donate to the Project Explore
30
Professionals featured
100%
Volunteer-built
2021–25
Four years in the making
Heroes Behind the Mask book cover
Ramsha Essa, Mirza Baig and Alina Azmat in Chicago
About the Book

More than a collection of stories

Heroes Behind the Mask is a book created under Pre-Health Shadowing to capture the untold narratives of healthcare professionals who served during the COVID-19 pandemic. It features real stories from doctors, nurses, public health experts, and educators — exploring the intersection of healthcare, humanity, and systemic inequity.

Written by student authors Ramsha Essa and Mirza Baig and coordinated by Alina Azmat, this is the kind of context no textbook will give you. Every pre-health student who wants to understand what they're walking toward should read it.

Published by Pre-Health Shadowing, Inc. Launched in Chicago, April 2025. Hundreds of copies sold.

"I wrote this book because I was left in awe of the sacrifices healthcare providers made during the pandemic."
— Ramsha Essa, Co-Author
Paperback on Amazon Kindle Edition
Explore the Project

There's more to the story

The book is the center — but the people who wrote it, the professionals in it, the volunteers who built it, and the mission behind it each deserve their own page.

Ramsha Essa Mirza Baig Alina Azmat
Authors

Meet the Authors

Ramsha Essa, Mirza Baig, and project coordinator Alina Azmat — the students behind the book, their backgrounds, and what drove them to write it.

Meet the authors
Professionals

Featured Professionals

30 healthcare providers across specialties — their stories in the book, and their shadowing sessions on PHS where available. A bridge between the book and the platform.

Meet all 30
Volunteers

The Team Behind the Book

40+ students built this — editors, designers, researchers, social media leads, and coordinators. Meet everyone who made it happen and find out how to get involved.

Meet the team
Donate

Support the Project

Help fund Phase 2 outreach, educational access, and events that bring these stories to classrooms and communities nationwide. $5,000 goal.

Donate on Givebutter
The Volunteer Team

40+ volunteers built this book

From the first interview to the Chicago launch, every part of this project was produced by students who gave their time because they believed the stories were worth it. Editors, designers, researchers, social media leads, outreach coordinators — all volunteers.

Edited & Published

271 pages shaped by two professional editors and four beta readers — from raw interview transcripts to a finished book.

Built the Social Presence

Instagram, TikTok, and LinkedIn — reels, graphics, and campaigns all produced by the volunteer content team.

Sourced the Research

A five-person research team found the peer-reviewed citations that ground every chapter in evidence.

Launched in Chicago

A live in-person launch event at Loyola Chicago in April 2025 — coordinated and executed entirely by the team.

Designed the Cover

A volunteer graphic designer created the book's cover from scratch — the face of the project in every bookstore and listing.

Want to Join Phase 2?

We're taking these stories national. If you want to be part of what comes next, we'd love to have you.

Heroes Behind the Mask · Now Available

Read it. Support it. Build it.

Buy the book on Amazon, donate to the Phase 2 campaign, or volunteer to help take these stories national.

Buy the Book Donate to Phase 2 Volunteer with Us