Bridgeport Mayor Honors SHU Student for Community Work
Sana Mohammad was youngest lead volunteer with city’s VAX Team
Sacred Heart University student Sana Mohammad ’24 is taking full advantage of the opportunities and connections SHU has to offer, and that put her on the front lines during the pandemic, helping to administer COVID-19 vaccinations.
Mohammad was the youngest lead volunteer with the Bridgeport VAX Team, which provided immunizations to residents during the pandemic. Her work caught the attention of Bridgeport Mayor Joseph Ganim, who recently presented her with the city’s Making a Difference award.
Her SHU instructors say Mohammad has been making a difference since she arrived at the University. During her first year of college, she joined Sacred Heart’s Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), which enabled her to create connections in the health care field and discover her passion for health equity. She worked with the Bridgeport VAX Team during the pandemic, aiding efforts to administer more than 22,500 vaccines in under six months at a small city clinic.
“Sana joined the Sacred Heart MRC early in 2021 and since then has been instrumental in supporting the Bridgeport Health Department’s efforts at vaccine clinics,” said Sofia Pendley, former assistant professor and MRC director at SHU. “She was at almost every Saturday clinic. The health department began to request her for more leadership roles because she was a vital part of the team.”
Mohammad is a biology major on the pre-med track. She chose Sacred Heart over other universities because of its broad training in various areas, such as biological, organismal and molecular studies. She also was impressed by the research opportunities and internships available to SHU students, as well as their career aspirations.
“Hearing about the future career plans of students inspired me to pave my own path in the sciences and to continue pursuing a profession focused on health care and the betterment of people’s lives,” said Mohammad.
She plans to attend medical school after graduating from SHU. She has wanted to go into the medical field since elementary school, when she spent a lot of time visiting her grandfather in the hospital. He suffered from heart problems, which piqued her interest in cardiology.
This past year, Mohammad interned with Bridgeport Hospital’s senior cardiologist. The experience strengthened her desire to focus on patient-centered care in underrepresented communities.
“Meeting patients and their families from diverse cultural backgrounds reminded me of my own family and our genuine interactions with the health-care workers who cared for my grandfather,” said Mohammad. “This inspired me to become a physician and do the same for other families one day.”
Mohammad’s professors say she has made an incredible impact on Sacred Heart’s campus and has been an essential member of the community. During her final year at Sacred Heart, she plans to mentor underclassmen with the hope that they will become active in SHU’s community and beyond.