To Save A Life

By Sameera P.

Eva has always loved learning, but science has a special place in her heart. Science, she has observed, has a real-life application in her field of choice; medicine. “I want to be a doctor because both my parents are doctors, and I want to help others.” said Eva when being interviewed. “Doctors save many lives everyday, and I think they’re very important in keeping everyone safe and healthy.”

Eva’s parents, who are both from the Philippines, went to medical school there before moving to Wisconsin for work. They moved to California in 2012, with Eva and her younger brother David in tow. “I love living in California; I’ve pretty much been here all my life.” Eva said when asked if she missed Wisconsin. She says she wants to go back there one day to see what she missed.

Though Eva loves the idea of being a doctor, she also has other hobbies and activities she’s interested in. In her spare time, she likes to read, run, paint, play tennis, and play the piano. Some more unique talents she has are the ability to sew, crochet, and play the alto saxophone, the last of which she does for band. She’s also visited a multitude of places, including Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, London, Paris, Canada, Hawaii, Florida, the Bahamas, Arizona, Utah, Seattle (in Washington), and New York. She puts a lot of weight on school and learning, but also on helping people. When asked why she likes helping people, Eva said, “Helping others doesn’t only help them, it also helps you.” Her goals as a kid were “getting good grades and having good friends."

Another thing Eva finds extremely important is her faith. When asked who her role model was in life, she responded ‘Jesus,’ and said that she “strives to be more like Jesus every day.” A hard time for her was when Isabella Hendrix and people in her family died, but she says she now knows that God has a purpose for them, along with a place in heaven.

Eva is a pretty open person. She says there aren’t many things about her that people might not readily know, since she doesn’t really keep secrets, and wants people to feel like they can trust her. The only thing that she could come up with when asked was that “the only pets [she’d] ever had were fish”, one of which is now three years old.

When I asked Eva why exactly she wanted to become a doctor, she responded with something her dad told her was the rule for doctors: “Cure sometimes, heal often, and care always.” She also said that we should all care for each other, doctor or not. Eva plans to pursue medicine, but even if she changes her mind, she’ll continue to keep caring.