Padua's HOSA Club Connects Students with Medical Careers

The HOSA Club's Rare Disease Week was a resounding success! Joelle Lennick '21, Maura Mullen '21, Olivia Stankewicz '21 and Madeline Voss '21 used this week to promote awareness for different rare diseases as well as careers in the medical field and service opportunities at the University of Delaware. One of the many highlights was the (virtual) return of the Kowalski sisters to Padua!

Padua Alumnae & St. John the Beloved Catholic School Alumnae Becca '13 and Gabby '15 Kowalski, daughters of Mrs. Kowalski, were not only able to shed light on rare diseases such as Arthrogryposis and Spinal Muscle Atrophy (SMA), but also provide our students with SO much insight on pursing a career in medicine. Their candid discussion style and true desire to be a resource for our students had the participants ready to start innovating in the area of assistive medical technologies (AMT) today!
When asked about differentiating between a medical career and the desire to pursue a service-oriented life, they both agreed that service is a theme that underlies everything they do for people. For Gabby it's "a mentality of how I treat people, my family, friends and those in the community." For Becca, "service and a career in healthcare can be one and the same. You are privy to something scary in someone's life but you have the ability to walk the journey with them."

They both encouraged our students to learn about and shadow as many careers as possible before committing to a focus of study in college. You can be interested in fields other than medicine and still become part of the medical field. They both agreed that you will learn what you need to know in medical school and bringing additional skills for what excites you most to this journey is key. We are SO #PaduaPROUD of you both and hope you'll return at some point in the future to update us on your progress at Ohio State University and University of Virginia!

Thank you to everyone who participated in the week's activities, including the electronic word search for HOSA. The winner was Christina Dell'Orefice '21!
And please remember that YOU could "be the match." Bone marrow donations have the ability to save the lives of those with the most desperate of medical conditions, including blood cancers like Leukemia and Lymphoma.
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Spirituality. Scholarship. Service. Sisterhood.