![user profile avatar](https://static.bold.org/profilePictures/img9683large0f810934ff044a54a5d9ac432ac9ecec.webp)
Hobbies and interests
Community Service And Volunteering
Writing
Cooking
Exploring Nature And Being Outside
History
Human Rights
Liberal Arts and Humanities
Reading
Spending Time With Friends and Family
Reading
Christianity
Academic
History
Literature
Classics
Philosophy
I read books multiple times per month
Hannah D'cruz
695
Bold Points1x
Finalist![user profile avatar](https://static.bold.org/profilePictures/img9683large0f810934ff044a54a5d9ac432ac9ecec.webp)
Hannah D'cruz
695
Bold Points1x
FinalistBio
I am a dedicated biology and theology student seeking to use my talents after college as a doctor. I have a passion for service, so I am pursuing a career that allows me to help people, especially those who do not have access to quality healthcare. I love to learn and graduated as the salutatorian of my high school class. Currently, I am a rising sophomore at Villanova University. I am excited to continue taking challenging classes that help me think about and understand the world in new ways.
Education
Villanova University
Bachelor's degree programMajors:
- Theological and Ministerial Studies
- Biology, General
Villa Walsh Academy
High SchoolMiscellaneous
Desired degree level:
Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)
Graduate schools of interest:
Transfer schools of interest:
Majors of interest:
- Medicine
- Theological and Ministerial Studies
Career
Dream career field:
Medicine
Dream career goals:
Doctor
Office Assistant - performed office tasks for professors and staff including copying papers, collecting mail, and organizing supplies
Villanova University Department of Sociology and Criminology2023 – 20241 yearGrader/Assistant - graded worksheets, filed packets, helped students with reading and math; assigned extra responsibility of cataloguing the center’s books
Kumon Center in Bernardsville NJ2021 – 2021
Sports
Tennis
Junior Varsity2021 – 20221 year
Awards
- Yes
Arts
- Present
Public services
Volunteering
CareOne Hanover — Volunteer - transported patients, served in the dining room, assisted recreation department with activities2022 – 2022Volunteering
Villanova Special Olympics Fall Festival — Healthy Athletes Inclusion Crew Member - distributed supplies to athletes during sporting events2023 – 2023Volunteering
St. Joseph Church — Catechism Teacher for Grade 2 - organized lesson plans, taught students, communicated with parents and administrators2022 – 2023Volunteering
St Joseph Church, Good Neighbors — Volunteer - helped repair sites around my town (2020) and homes for people struggling financially in Appalachia (2021-23)2020 – 2023Volunteering
Community Outreach of Villanova, Villanova University — Volunteer (2023), Co-Leader (2024-present) - visit and socialize with residents at Holy Family Nursing Home2023 – Present
Future Interests
Advocacy
Volunteering
Philanthropy
Our Destiny Our Future Scholarship
We could barely understand the man in the wheelchair. He was alone on a sidewalk beside a busy road in Kensington. Meeting him reminded me of another situation I had been in recently.
My grandparents live in India, so my family sometimes visits to spend time with them. In the past few years, these trips have taken on a new dimension as my grandmother progresses through the stages of advanced Parkinson’s. On our most recent visit this past Christmas, she struggled to speak to us, and we could barely make out what she was saying.
Some of my friends and I volunteered in Kensington, Philadelphia about four months later. The organization we were joining provides support to people dealing with homelessness in Kensington. We walked around the neighborhood in the cold, greeting people and offering them food and clothing. Many of them really appreciated having someone to talk to. The man in the wheelchair, however, needed something from us, but we could not understand what he was asking us for. We eventually realized that he wanted us to help him access an elevator at a nearby train station, allowing him to get indoors out of the cold.
Although my grandmother’s situation is very different, I found that in both moments someone had a need that I could try to meet. Need. This word has shaped my plan for the future because it is a common thread in the things that I am passionate about. I want my career to help meet people’s needs, especially where those needs are most urgently felt. I am pursuing a double major in biology and theology, on the premed track. My plan is to acquire the knowledge and training necessary to be a doctor for people who have limited access to quality healthcare. But I also want to help meet a deeper need that I believe we all share — the need for compassion and understanding. I would be in a unique position to meet this universal need as a doctor. While biology allows me to prepare for med school, majoring in theology allows me to explore who we are as human beings, and how I can best help someone who is suffering. My education will ensure that I am ready to meet the needs of the people I will eventually be serving full-time.
To prepare for this role right now, I have found ways to meet needs in my community and beyond. In high school, I traveled to Kentucky with my youth group to repair homes for people who are struggling to afford the necessary construction. Talking and laughing with the homeowners, and seeing the impact our work had for their homes, was a highlight of these trips for me. As a first year college student this year, I started volunteering at a local nursing home with other students from my university, and became a co-leader for the group in my second semester. I love getting to know the residents and listening to their stories. These experiences mean a lot to me because they allow me to meet a need that I see and make a difference to someone.
For a person dealing with a disability and homelessness, that might mean a need for compassionate assistance. For a person struggling with illness, like my grandmother, it might mean needing a doctor who takes the time to listen. As I continue preparing for my future career through my experiences and education, I know that I want to develop a talent for understanding how I can best meet someone’s needs, both physically and emotionally.