Public Health Science, Class of 2019
Academic Enhancements
At age six, Iaisha Sadat learned she needed to look after her big brother, who has a heart condition. Her mother had brought her along for his regularly scheduled heart checkup at a local hospital, and just as they entered the lobby he stopped breathing. He had just been given Hepatitis and Small Pox vaccines at the clinic next door which triggered a severe reaction.
Dozens of nurses immediately gathered around him and began working feverishly. “Fortunately they were able to stabilize him until the cardiologist arrived,” Sadat explained. “But the cardiologist said if it had been five more minutes it would have been bad for him.”
This was when Sadat realized what it meant for her brother to have a heart problem and how crucial physicians are. It was also the moment she realized that she wanted to help save lives like the cardiologist who helped save her brother.
The Public Health Science major found her calling with the help of the LEAD Scholars Program and the Santa Clara Fund. At Santa Clara, Sadat has learned the importance of social and environmental factors in the health of communities, participating in educational opportunities and local immersions which provide basic health services to underserved communities. In addition, she has actively searched for and participated in internships providing hands-on clinical experience.
This last year, Sadat applied for an internship through the American Academy of Medicine. Though she applied for the local program because it wasn’t far from her Fremont home, they accepted her for the same program based in Hawaii.
“I was so disappointed because traveling to Hawaii was not an option for me financially,” Sadat said. But with help from grants given through the Santa Clara Fund and the LEAD Scholars Program, she was able participate in the internship and get the hands-on experience she was looking for.
Through the program, she received extensive training on cardiothoracic surgery, and performed heart dissection, ligations, coronary artery bypass grafts, mitral valve replacement, ventricular septal defect repair, and sutures on pig hearts.
“This was by far the best internship opportunity I’ve ever had. I am an undergraduate student and was getting to do procedures that surgical residents get to do. Not even medical students get this training,” Sadat declared. “I never would have been able to participate if it weren’t for donor support provided through the Santa Clara Fund and LEAD Scholar Koret Fellowship Grant. I am eternally grateful and look forward to someday using my medical education to help other people in need.”
- Audrey Redmond
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