Student Profile- Vannhi Huynh, CST ’17, TUSPM ‘21
Vannhi Huynh migrated to the Philadelphia area when she was 9 years old from Vietnam with her family. She grew up in Mayfair, PA and attended Central High School. From a young age, Vannhi always had an interest in science and medicine, and decided to attend Temple University for her undergraduate studies in preparation for medical school.
While studying for her undergraduate degree concentrated in Pre-Med at Temple’s College of Science and Technology, Vannhi first learned about podiatry when Ms. Snead and Ms. Huggins gave a lecture about podiatry in one of her classes. Vannhi immediately developed an interest in podiatry and visited the Foot and Ankle Institute to shadow the clinicians. She says “in podiatry, you can do a lot. There’s surgery, you can take care of the pediatric population or the elderly, and so much more. Podiatry has a good lifestyle too.”
At TUSPM, Vannhi loves that there is a lot of variety in the School and there are also various opportunities. She is the President of the Global Health Club and she enjoys seeing the global aspects of medicine. At TUSPM there are also research opportunities, and the professors are always available for help and to answer questions. Vannhi has made lots of friends and relationships at TUSPM; a few students graduated from Temple main campus at the same time and all came to TUSPM together, and the group of friends has expanded throughout the years. She is excited to see her friends again when it is safe to gather.
Vannhi recommends for students to always reach out to their professors. She says that since the pace of medical school is so much faster than the pace of undergraduate studies, it is important to reach out to teachers, professors, and clinicians to truly understand the course material. She also recommends making friends and forming study groups because study groups increase the motivation for studying.
Vannhi is excited for graduation, and she is proud that she is the first member of her family to graduate from medical school. She is hoping to complete her residency in Pennsylvania. She hopes to learn more about clinical podiatry by working in an office and has a goal of opening her own practice in the future.
“Podiatry is a great field that is not really well-known, and it should get a lot more exposure in order for people to gain interest. A lot of people just know osteopathic or allopathic medical school, but not about podiatry school, but this is a great field to be working in.”