Medicine has always been a point of fascination for Hill.
I found that medicine was more than just fixing physical ailments of the body, it was making people feel seen and heard and loved. It was listening to what someone truly needed and doing all you can to provide it. It’s very beautiful.
Growing up, Davina Hill had a lot of exposure to hospitals. Her mother had surgical appointments and other check-up appointments often. Hill quickly became like her mother’s shadow, always going with her wherever she went. Especially when she went into the hospital, Hill became interested in every chart, x-ray, and strange, complex vocabulary the doctors would use. It didn’t take long for the doctors to notice Hill’s interest in medicine, at one point even referring to her as “the doctor-girl" because she was so interested in all they did. Hill asked them question after question, interrupting appointments, because she wanted to know everything.
Hill found meaning in other medical experiences over time in travels to different areas of the world. She visited Vietnam and shadowed all types of physicians. She met a little boy during pediatric rounds, whom she took the opportunity to sing little children’s songs with as he was being treated in the hospital. When Hill went to Kenya to help advocate for free education, she also visited a hospital and learned that they lacked an MRI machine to help treat patients. When in LA Hill was able to volunteer in a free clinic and talk with people about how excited they were to receive free dental services for their teeth, as they couldn’t afford the care on their own.
The most beneficial part of the program for Hill was the interactions and experiences with her TBSP mentor, Dr. Sylvia LaCourse, and the other physicians she worked alongside, Dr. E. Chandler Church and Dr. Stephanie Mclaughlin. Being alongside them to learn, laugh, make mistakes, and grow was not only very fun, but incredibly encouraging as well. Her mentor gave her time to learn as much as she could along with her research schedule.
Hill learned that communication and honesty is key when it comes to time management within any endeavor.
If you find yourself working on a team, in which you all are striving to accomplish one major goal, you must be willing to communicate what you are able to do, what you need to learn to do something, or what you simply can’t do yet.
This program opened a wide range of opportunities for Hill, beyond even what she had guessed it could. Hill got hands-on experience with helping to write an IRB protocol, study protocol, consent form, and others. Hill accepted a job offer to work in the field of research after her graduation from UW. She is incredibly excited for this opportunity and grateful for the path TBSP helped her move towards.
When she first applied to this program, Hill needed a recommendation letter. She was nervous because her whole college experience at the time was made up of zoom. COVID had become a barrier to her physically being in classrooms and being able to really build relationships with professors. However, Hill had built a relationship despite that barrier and received a glowing recommendation.
That letter helped me to get into this program. More than that, it helped me to know that even though I am not the student who receives all A’s or is in every single extra-curricular club on campus, I am still so capable of making a huge impact or a positive contribution wherever I go. I was able to help write a manuscript, IRB protocol, code data variables, etc. I was able to help assist in the process of a study getting up and rolling. That is a cool thing to think about.
Davina Hill graduated from the Department of Global Health in Spring 2023.