While she’s not sure in what exact capacity it will be, Wafa Nabut sees the medical field in her future.
“I want to help people,” the St. Charles Catholic sophomore said.
Nabut, of Boutte, has recently been honored with an invitation to attend the annual Congress of Medical Leaders in Lowell, Mass., a three-day honors program for high-achieving high school and college students who aspire for a career as a physician or medical scientist, including as a biologist, engineer, software or hardware technologist, mathematician, and more.
To be eligible to attend the Congress, students must have a minimum of 3.5 GPA (either current or cumulative), an ACT score of 22, or an SAT score of 1300.
Students who are accepted as a Delegate to the Congress will be mentored by accomplished professionals in medicine and will view a complete surgery while able to ask the surgeon questions in real time.
At the end of the event, students will be presented with the Congress of Future Medical Leaders Award of Excellence, signed and certified by Dr. Mario Capecchi, Nobel Prize Winner and Science Director of the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists. Sponsored by the National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists, the Congress brings together more than 4,500 students annually.
Students are selected for their dedication, talent, and leadership potential in medicine.
“I’m incredibly honored,” Nabut said. “I’ll get to see some amazing people who guide medicine in our country … I’m very passionate about learning more and more about medicine and science and I’m really looking forward to it.”
Nabut said the idea of being able to help people through their medical problems – and ultimately save lives – is what commanded her attention to a potential career in the medical field. That could be as a doctor, a nurse or possibly a psychologist helping people get through mental barriers and traumas.
“I’m still open to everything,” Nabut said.
The event will take place in June.
There, she will be able to hear Nobel Laureates and National Medal of Science Winners talk about leading medical research, be given advice from Ivy League and top medical school deans on what to expect in medical school, witness stories told by patients who are living medical miracles; be inspired by fellow teen medical science prodigies, and learn about cutting-edge advances and the future in medicine and medical technology.
Science is one of her favorite subjects.
“Everything is connected through science. I love it,” Nabut said. “You learn how life is created and how everything comes together to make it happen.”
At St. Charles Catholic, Nabut is a member of the Student Council Ambassadors, Mu Alpha Theta and the Comets tennis team.
