A Future in Service and Medicine

Abegail Javidzad,17
High School: YULA Girls High School
GOING TO: USC

Abegail Javidzad wants to become a dermatologist and to give back to the world. The daughter of Iranian-American immigrants, Javidzad has excelled in the sciences and has immersed herself in charity work at YULA Girls High School.

“I’ve always had a love for the sciences and medicine, especially when I studied science in ninth grade with Mrs. [Sandy] Waleko,” Javidzad said. “She taught in a clear way that solidified my love for science and helped make it clear that medicine was the right field for me.” 

Javidzad, who will be graduating as salutatorian of her class, will be a pre-med student at USC this fall. 

“I’m really into skin care,” she said. “Whenever my friends have a skin issue, they ask me, ‘Oh, Abby, what do I do for acne scars?’ I like doing research into that field of medicine. And I think skin care is really important.”

Outside of the classroom, Javidzad volunteered at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and United Care Family Medical Center, where she shadowed doctors and took vital signs. 

“Since I was volunteering in patient transport [at UCLA], I saw every single department,” Javidzad said. “At United Care, I got to see what it was like to work with family medicine in a private practice and be one on one with patients.”

She enjoyed her time at the hospital and health care center, she said, because “I was the first face [the patients] saw. I learned a lot of things from the doctor. He said you should always sit down when you come into the room because it makes patients feel more comfortable. Patient interaction is one of the most important things because it’s how you get the patient to trust you.”

“Mrs. Waleko taught in a clear way that solidified my love for science and helped make it clear that medicine was the right field for me.”

Javidzad’s compassion and care for people is also evident in her other volunteer work. She founded and is the current president of Clothes for Care, where she collects clothes from her classmates and takes them to the National Council of Jewish Women, Los Angeles. So far, she has coordinated more than 500 donations. 

“It’s important to give back,” she said, “and this is such a simple thing that anyone can do.”

In Javidzad’s spare time, she served as editor-in-chief for three years of The Panther Post, YULA High Schools’ newspaper, and served on the board of the YULA Israel Advocacy Club. 

In the fall, she will be attending USC on a presidential scholarship, a half-tuition award, and will be part of the Trojan Scholars Society, the organization for students with academic scholarships. She plans to continue learning about the intersection of science and medicine. 

“I really want to help others and combine that with science,” Javidzad said. “The best way to do that is [through] medicine.”