AHA Junior Rachel Mina Is Candidate for Governor’s School in the Sciences

Rachel Mina, a junior at the Academy of the Holy Angels and future psychiatrist, is a candidate for the prestigious New Jersey Governor’s School in the Sciences. The AHA Office of Academic & College Counseling announced Mina’s candidacy on December 14. She will now apply for the three-week residential immersion program that will be held at Drew University in July 2022. Participants will engage in college-level research and scientific collaboration.

“I applied to this program because I realized that the resources and courses provided by The Governor’s School of the Sciences would give me the tools to make a difference and confer with like-minded peers,” Mina said of her pursuit of AHA’s nomination. “As a participant, I’d like to be able to expand my knowledge and perception of science. My main goal is to be able to understand this field more so I can be a well-educated and impactful doctor and scientist.”

Mina plans to become an adolescent psychiatrist, a career that will require her to be well educated and aware of how science applies to society.

“This program allows a student to learn how to help others with this application, which I hope to master,” the Ridgefield Park resident added.

“The activity I am most proud of outside of AHA is Knitting for Life. It’s a nonprofit organization my close friends and I founded, and we donate clothing to neonatal intensive care units. We’ve also taken up projects with other groups we felt in need, such as health care workers and homeless shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, we are preparing a Christmas donation to a NICU at St. Luke’s Health Foundation in Idaho, and I’m very excited to be a part of it!”

Knitting for Life recently recognized dozens of local health care workers by sharing 117 thank you letters and 181 knitted hearts. Knitting for Life’s outreach was featured by News 12 New Jersey, WNBC New York, RLS Media, Rockland County News, and the School Sisters of Notre Dame. Mina and her cofounders were recognized by Ridgefield Park Mayor Fosdick. Her volunteer activities also include collaborations with the NICU Warrior Project and Project Sheltered.

Mina received AHA’s Mother Caroline Scholarship, and maintains an excellent GPA that has earned her Principal’s List status multiple times. Her short story, “I Saw Him,” was featured by the Decameron Project, which publishes exceptional literary works. She also earned honors in a creative writing contest, the American Legion Auxiliary Essay Contest, and the Premio de Plato for scoring in the 85th to 94th percentile on the National Spanish Exam. Spanish is Mina’s third language; she is fluent in both English and Arabic.

This multifaceted Angel is involved in many activities at AHA, and is founder and president of the Middle Eastern Cultural Society. Mina is also vice president of Medical Enthusiasts Determined to Succeed, where she meets with speakers and performs various dissections. She is active with the Psychology Club, where she and her peers discuss psychological disorders and perform social experiments, and works with the Mental Health Committee to plan educational activities and presentations. As a member of the Act Justly Planning Committee, she organizes inclusivity assemblies and activities. She also provides tutoring in geometry.

She spent two years with Operation Smile, AHA’s student branch of the global nonprofit that performs free corrective surgeries for individuals with cleft lip/palate.

Mina has been playing the flute since she was in fourth grade. She has been sharing her musical talents with the Academy Orchestra for the past three years, and was inducted into the Tri-M National Music Honor Society as a sophomore. Tri-M recognizes dedicated young musicians who also demonstrate academic excellence, character, leadership, and service.

Mina pursues multiple programs that enhance her interest in medicine. She participated in the Summer Springboard Online Exploration: Medicine and Healthcare Track, a five-day exploration of emergency medicine, global public health, genetics, psychology, and neuroscience. She also attended the W.E.B DuBois Accelerated Learning Academy: Medical Science Track, a three-weekend look at genetic engineering, cellular biology of cancer and aging, and biotechnology.  

Mina recently took an advanced psychology course at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth.

She was able to observe procedures in a clinical setting while shadowing a doctor of podiatric medicine. 

During her freshman year at AHA, Mina was a junior volunteer at Englewood Medical Center, where she assisted with specimen and pharmaceutical delivery and patient discharge procedures.

Founded by the School Sisters of Notre Dame in 1879, the Academy of the Holy Angels is the oldest private girls’ school in Bergen County. While AHA is steeped in Catholic tradition, this prestigious school serves young women from many cultural and religious backgrounds.