Super Students
Saturday, April 25, 1998
Name: Sophia Hurd
Age: 18
School: St. Andrew's Priory
Favorite subject: All of them
Pastimes: Volleyball, soccer, track
Future: Physician
Look no further for one of Cliff Huxtable's top fans. Mind's set on medicine
The lovable doctor of the 1980s sitcom "The Cosby Show" so inspired Sophia Hurd that she decided to become a physician.
"He made it look cool," she said.
Add the fact that the 18-year-old sports enthusiast has broken more than a few bones in her lifetime and you may see what shaped her career choice.
Hurd debates between pediatrics, sports medicine or orthopedics as a specialty, but has ruled out geriatrics.
She spent last summer volunteering with Malama Ohana, Kaiser Hospital's long-term patient care unit, where she met several elderly patients who were either paralyzed and unable to speak or terminally ill. "It was heart-wrenching," she said.
College counselor Belinda Chung described Hurd as a curious scholar with great poise and talent.
"She just has a wonderful personality ... an excellence of character, excellence of contributing something of herself back to the school," Chung said.
Hurd, a Macy's Minorities in Medicine Program Scholar, is also an athlete, regularly places on the school's Headmaster's List, and is a member of the speech club and the Companions of St. Andrew's.
Hurd plans to complete more volunteer projects before the school year ends and complete Kaiser's nurses aid program this summer before heading to college in the fall.
Kimberly Fu, Star-Bulletin
