Isabella Castellano
Officer of Public Affairs
- I am currently a senior, class of 2022, studying the Biomedical Sciences and Cognitive Sciences at UCF as an Honors student in the Burnett Medical Scholars Program. I am also greatly involved in biomedical research in pathogenesis and immunology, both participating in the Honors Undergraduate Thesis Program and completing the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship at UCF.
- I began as a general body member in Hearts for the Homeless Orlando, but quickly fell in love with the organization, which led to me applying for and becoming the position of Recruitment Director my sophomore year at UCF. The next year, I became the Recruitment Officer and played the role via a virtual format. I also became involved in H4H International after my first year as a volunteer and moved from Social Media Director to Executive Secretary Director to Officer of Public Affairs. During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, I heavily assisted in leading our H4H Intl. Telehealth Volunteering Initiative, renovating the website and social media, creating our new Linked In page, and restructuring the organization’s personnel.
- Hearts for the Homeless stood out to me amongst an overwhelming number of organizations at my university because it has an incredibly specific and significant mission to help a population that is at a disadvantage in almost every aspect of life. This organization allows us to not only help this population through our screenings, but also to connect with and to humanize them. Overall, I find it extremely beautiful to be a part of and it reminds me every day why I chose to go into healthcare: to serve others in this way.
- In the future, I aim to graduate from the UCF College of Medicine with my M.D. and to potentially pursue a specialty in pediatrics, although there are many years to decide. I plan to go back to school and obtain my Ph.D. several years after earning my M.D. Additionally, after practicing medicine as a physician, I want to pass on my knowledge as a professor and teach the next generation of physicians and scientists.
English 
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