In pursuit of service
by Nathaniel Miller
Nadia Abdulbaki has always been fascinated with the medical field and helping others since childhood.
When she was 6 years old, her mother was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease. During doctor visits, Abdulbaki would watch those physicians, learning medical care was more than just treating a diagnosis.
“I just loved how her rheumatologist would speak to her in a holistic way, not necessarily treating her condition alone,” Abdulbaki said. “So that propelled me into medicine.”
While attending Health Careers High School, a magnet school in San Antonio for students interested in a health professional career, she became involved in an organization to help make people aware of dating violence.
Her focus on becoming a medical professional and helping others led her to St. Mary’s University, where she will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Biology, magna cum laude, on Saturday.
Abdulbaki will also be recognized as a member of the St. Mary’s University Honors Program, an advanced academic curriculum where students gain access to academic and extracurricular benefits, membership to national honors organizations and unique research and study abroad opportunities.
Students who graduate with honors from St. Mary’s usually do so with high recognition, appealing to potential employers and prestigious graduate and doctoral programs.
Abdulbaki, who is applying for medical school, praised her time at the University.
“The education at St. Mary’s has prepared me in more ways than one,” she said. “Not just academically, but also understanding interpersonal skills, or how to make connections in your work between different fields and how to network with other individuals.”
The San Antonio native chose to attend St. Mary’s for numerous reasons: it was close to home, had a tight-knit community, and was familiar to her because of attending the JAMP Pre-medical Summer Camp before being officially accepted into JAMP, which is the Joint Admission Medical Program.
The Texas Legislature created the program to support and encourage highly qualified, economically disadvantaged Texas students to pursue a medical education.
Professor of Biological Sciences Thomas “Ted” E. Macrini, Ph.D., said 100 spots open for JAMP annually, and an average of 300 applicants apply.
“Nadia is an intelligent, industrious, conscientious, quiet and respectful individual,” Macrini said. “She takes nothing for granted and has gotten to where she is today from sheer determination and hard work.”
In addition to her medical ambitions, Abdulbaki looks to serve her community outside a doctor’s office.
In high school, she became a member of the Youth Advisory Council. Part of the Family Violence Prevention Services, Inc., the council helps students discuss, address and educate others on how to prevent dating violence.
Nadia Abdulbaki“You can go through classes, you can do these courses and most of the time, at a bigger campus, you can be just a number. But here at St. Mary’s, people know your name, appreciate you and want to learn more about you.”
She has also been to the Texas Legislature to advocate for bills with the Texas Council on Family Violence. Her honors project, which she will present to state lawmakers in February, is writing a bill to amend the Texas Family Code to more narrowly define the meaning of “best interest of the child.”
“I appreciate the Honors Program because it gave me the time and the facilities to get involved with my project and better understand why I’m doing it and how to properly convey it,” Abdulbaki said.
With the services and ease of contacting her professors outside the classroom, Abdulbaki said St. Mary’s successfully set her up to help her pursue her dreams.
“You can go through classes, you can do these courses and most of the time, at a bigger campus, you can be just a number,” she said. “But here at St. Mary’s, people know your name, appreciate you and want to learn more about you.”
