A 4.0 grade point average and a wide range of extra-curricular activities and community service hours characterize Christina Harkleroad, the 2012 winner of the Dani Griffin Innovation in Education Memorial Scholarship. Harkleroad will attend Indiana University, majoring in biology with plans to attend the IU School of Medicine.
A job shadowing experience and watching a surgery at Riley Children’s Hospital inspired her chosen career path.
“It was the most incredible experience that I have ever had. It was life-changing to see what medicine can do for children,” Harkleroad wrote in her scholarship essay. “That was the pivotal moment in my career decision. I knew I wanted to be a doctor after seeing that surgery. Medicine and science affects each of us and I cannot wait to change the lives of children and their families.”
Harkleroad, daughter of Barry and Barbara Harkleroad, is the Saints’ varsity soccer co-captain, a member of the choir and theatre productions at Lutheran High School, a senior mentor and a member of the Zion Lutheran Senior Youth Group.
“God gave me a love for children. I want to use that motivation to become a pediatrician and help children who need medical care,” Harkleroad wrote.
“I work at Zion’s Daycare and Child Care Ministry. When any of the children are sick, I feel bad for them and wish that I could help them. Children do not fully understand what is making them sick or why they are sick. I want to help them understand and recover.”