Sabrina Jenkins ’19, a biology major at Washington College, has wanted to be a pediatrician since she was a little girl. The oldest of three children, Jenkins grew up caring for her younger siblings and for the children of her neighbor, a pediatrician whom she shadowed in his Annapolis practice.

This summer, the 20-year-old premedical student with minors in chemistry and Asian studies will take another step closer to her goal, with an internship in the pediatric cardiology unit at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. After rotating through various departments, she can opt to shadow doctors in surgery, work in the cath lab, or immerse herself in the details of policy and procedure in business or human resources departments.

While she wants to keep her options open, she’ll likely be two steps behind the physicians. She’s already familiarized herself with fast-paced emergency medicine by volunteering in the pediatric Emergency Department at Anne Arundel Medical Center and at the ER in Chestertown, so she says she’s looking forward to better understanding aspects of a medical specialty.  

While her commitment to pediatric medicine has never wavered, Jenkins says Washington College provided her a much broader experience. In addition to playing varsity field hockey, Jenkins serves as executive chair of the Relay for Life, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, and is a member of Caring for Kids, a service club that sends volunteers to duPont Hospital for Children. In December, she spent three weeks in Taiwan, taking classes, exploring the city, and practicing her Chinese.

“I’ve taken Chinese since I was in sixth grade,” Jenkins says. “Typical for someone that age, I chose it because I liked Chinese food, but I discovered I really liked the language.”

Jenkins will take the MCATS in May and then begin applying to medical schools.