UHD Grad Heads for Medical School with Winning Research

Henia Abid Finishes Up a Whirlwind Year

(Houston, Texas, May 27, 2007) Someone must have taken some time to hammer the benefits of participative education into Henia Abid's psyche, because she has been a very busy student. Abid graduated from UH-Downtown this May with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology. She was a UHD Scholars Academy student, a Red Rose scholar, a fervent researcher of S. aureus biofilms, and a prize-winning presenter at professional conferences.

Abid took the MCAT in April and is now applying to medical schools in Texas. She dreams to become an emergency room surgeon, a field which she chose after volunteering at an ER department, a post-partum department, and a surgical ward. Why did the ER experience stick?

"I guess basically because it never gets monotonous," Abid says. "There is something new every day."

Abid enjoys her hospice volunteering, too. "You learn something from the patients every time you are with them," she says.  

Turning play into work and vice versa is one of Abid's strong suits. She is presently employed at North Harris College as, of all things, a program coordinator for their motorcycle safety program. She rides a Ninja 650 herself, so she knows what she is talking about. Our hat is off to this multi-talented UHD graduate!

UH-Downtown is a public university of nearly 12,000 students, offering a wide variety of bachelor’s degrees, as well as master’s programs in criminal justice, professional writing, security management and teaching. One of four distinct universities in the UH System, Houston’s Downtown University is nationally recognized for its student diversity, wireless campus, outstanding academic opportunities and productive community partnerships. At UHD, the emphasis is on excellence in teaching and student success.

Please use UH-Downtown, UHD or University of Houston-Downtown when referring to our university.