With pencil in hand, she lightly tapped the rim of her page to answer the remaining problem on her paper. The front door opened and a young man wearing baby blue scrubs walked through beaming immediately at the sight of his sister. She placed the pencil aside, and ran with excitement to greet him after his long day at work.

Where ever my brother goes I want to go.

Senior Christie Huynh received a Tier One scholarship to the University of Houston. Her hopes were exceeded when she heard she would be going there on a full ride. Her interest in dentistry did not arise solely on its own. Christie said that one of the reasons she chose dentistry in the first place was because of the influence her family.  A huge inspiration came from her older brother, a pharmacist who has been a significant role model.

“My brother inspires me,” Huynh said. “We’re sixteen years apart and he’s been in the medical field for a while. He’s a pharmacist. He’s been assisting me all these years. I look up to him. He just inspires me to help around the community and help people here. That’s why I want to help people.”

Her brother has given her helpful advice over the years and it remains as a potent message to Huynh.

“He would usually say just to do what I love,” Huynh said. “Don’t do it for the money. If you love helping and healthcare, if you love being a dentist just go on with it.”

Huynh said one of the main reasons she wants to pursue a career in dentistry is because she wants to interact with people and get them healthier. For Huynh, receiving this scholarship was much more than a rewarded passage into further educating herself on the subject of dentistry, it was an amazing relief for her and her family.

“My mom was crying,” Huynh said. “My dad was so excited and his face was like ‘I’m so proud’. I think it was just a huge relief, a weight off their shoulders.”

Another significant thing that Huynh said has remained a motivating factor has been her parents. When asked about her ceaseless quest for knowledge and what it was that kept her from falling wayside, she mentioned her parents.  She reminisced on her youth, her parents and how that strengthened her.

“I think just seeing my parents struggle back then,” Huynh said. “Back then my mother used to sew and they worked really hard to provide us with what we had. They came from Vietnam for a reason. So I just really want them to be proud of me.”

Huynh said she has worked vigorously to maintain her grades and take the many opportunities that she has commandeered in her high school career. As a freshman, she performed well enough to be recommended to advanced classes that steered her in the career path she is passionate about.

“I think since its freshmen year, people tend to be like oh ‘we’re in high school, and forget (about grades) or I don’t know,” Huynh said. “My freshman and sophomore years I really worked hard to maintain my rank and get up there and do my homework. Now I’m just in a better position where I don’t have to work so hard to maintain my grades.”

The University of Houston was not the only school to show interest in Huynh, The University of Texas at Dallas and the University of Texas at Austin both offered her spots on their campus.

 “Austin and Dallas offered me partial scholarships but Houston offered me Tier One,” Huynh said. My parents were worried about me and they told me. ‘You have to get a job because we can’t pay for all that.’ It was just like a huge weight off their shoulders that I had been offered a full ride.”

Financial struggles are known to cause hesitation to students who hope to continue their education at a college level, Huynh recognized this in conversations she has had with her older brother.

“He would say ‘don’t do it because, you know how we’re Asian and the stereotype is that parents say, you should do it for the money and become a doctor or become a lawyer, but he would say just honestly do what you love,” Huynh said.

Huynh recognized her interest in dentistry early as she chose classes that enabled her to succeed in her career path. Even as a young child she centered her concentration on a single career path.

“I think I was always into medicine,” Huynh said. I think I knew I wanted to be a doctor and I thought where ever my brother goes, I want to go.”

She believes many of the opportunities that she has been offered are thanks to the curriculum that the school offers.

“I think because it really concentrates on the medical field, it opened up a lot of opportunities for me,” Huynh said.  I think if it weren’t for the clinic I wouldn’t be as focused and centered on my career goal.”

Huynh did some preparation for college and also did some research on some schools while focusing on her career preparation.

“The counselors were really there for me and the SAT prep that they held here at school really helped,” Huynh said. “For college, I just did some research because I knew I didn’t want to go out of state and I knew that I wanted to stay in state.”

Huynh knows being in a new city will bring new experiences.

“I’m really excited to meet new people,” Huynh said. “It’s a whole new city that I can explore. “

After experiencing life here school, Huynh believes that the reward of hard work will definitely constitute the hardship.

“Work hard for what you want and you know you have to make sacrifices you just have to work for it.”