Hannah Carmi knew she wanted to be a doctor since she was very young as a way to take care of others and give back to those in need.
As she was starting college, she realized how expensive it would be for her to achieve her dream. She decided instead to pursue a career in communications at UCLA, but the dream wouldn’t go away.
That’s when Hannah decided to become a Physician Assistant, where she would be able to do all things medical under the supervision of a licensed physician. Choosing this path would not only let her serve faster but would also cut her college debt significantly.
“Growing up, I wanted to be a physician for most of my life. Then I realized that I didn’t want to be in so much debt,” explains Hannah. “I love helping people and that’s when I started finding out more and more about physician assistants because it wasn’t such a big field until 20 years ago. So, it was probably about seven or eight years ago that I decided, ‘you know what? I’m going to start becoming a physician assistant.’”
Her dermatologist, who was also a physician assistant, influenced her decision. She also heard from her primary care doctor about considering this career path.
But it was a big decision. It would mean going back to school and taking over 10 prerequisite classes to be qualified to apply for Physician Assistant programs, and then she’d still have to get her degree and complete rotations and clinical hours for licensure.
“I’m really excited because I get to work with medicine and with patients way faster than if I had decided I wanted to go to medical school, then residency, then fellowship. It would have been another 10 years,” said Hannah.
Even though this career path is not as expensive as traditional medical school it still has high costs, including tuition and online courses that were very expensive. Hannah heard about the JVS SoCal Scholarship program for Jewish students.
“I literally wouldn’t have enough money to get through the program. I would have had enough money taking out loans to cover my tuition and a few months’ rent,” remembers Hannah. “There was a time when I didn’t even know how I was going to pay for rent when I got accepted into school.”
Our Scholarship Program provides qualified Jewish students whose primary residence is in the Greater Los Angeles area with need-based financial aid, in the belief that education represents a vital step to career success. In Hannah’s case, she is a recipient of the Simms-Mann Family Foundation’s scholarships that are dedicated to students pursuing a career in medicine.
“It’s also nice to know that there’s also good people in the world like the Simms-Mann family, who want to help people. Not just the monetary value, but just the fact that people are good and it’s something heartwarming and nice to know,” offered Hannah.
Today, Hannah, whose sister Maayan is also a Simms-Mann Scholarship recipient, is now ready to start her rotations to decide which specialty she will choose, either dermatology or obstetrics/gynecology.
The 28-year-old Los Angeles native is also very proud to be a Jewish-American woman. She proudly wears a Hebrew necklace to let everyone know how important Judaism is to her. Growing in an orthodox household, Hannah holds her values and morals as an important part of her life along with her three siblings and her single mother.
“I just feel like I’m so lucky to be in this community, because people want to help, people are like family even when you might not see them for a while,” adds Hannah. “I have all these cousins and all these aunts that are not actually blood related, but I know that they are always there for me and I think that’s the most beautiful part of Judaism.”
Since the inception of the JVS Scholarship Program in 1972, JVS has awarded more than 5,800 scholarships totaling over $12.5 million. Today’s recipients are pursuing both undergraduate and graduate studies at colleges, universities and vocational schools nationwide.
If you’d like to help other students achieve their dreams, please donate now