If you Google the name “Shoshanna Goldin,” the first result is an article entitled “Pennsylvania Girls’ Research Projects on Energy Drinks and Migraines Expose Hidden Health Threats to Today’s Teens, Earning Top Prizes in Nation’s Leading Public Health Competition for High School Students.”
Whoa there.Intense, huh? This lengthy title accompanies an article about Shoshanna earning a $50,000 scholarship for the medical research that she conducted with a fellow classmate. The award-winning study focused on energy drinks – the stimulants they contain and the consequences of teenagers drinking them. Shoshanna’s findings on the topic were so well-received that the city of Los Angeles banned the use of all energy drinks in public schools, and she was even invited to the White House to explain her data to President Obama and other distinguished guests, such as Bill Nye and the Mythbusters.
Shoshanna’s research has also spanned other areas, including alcohol use in the college population, children’s cognitive development, children’s lead poisoning, memory recall, and gender bias in literature. Shoshanna is currently studying the sensational-seeking personality types and the physiological consequences of decaffeinated adult beverages. That’s a lot of accomplishments for one lifetime.
But want to hear the kicker? She’s just a freshman.
Want to feel even more intimidated? Not only is Shoshanna a Graylyn Scholar here at Wake, but she also has a whopping six internships under her belt, easily giving the Intern Queen a run for her money.
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And if you creep through her Facebook pictures, you’ll marvel at pictures of Shoshanna in exotic places, such as Mexico and Jordan. She has chatted with street artists in London and has walked through the many cities of Israel. The U.S. State Department selected her as a Youth Ambassador to India, and she studied Hindi in Delhi.
“I’m going back to India this summer to study rural eye care,” Shoshanna said. “I’m also going to the Galapagos Islands to study the effects of globalization there and in Ecuador.”
In her spare time, Shoshanna has volunteered at various hospitals and is the spokesperson for several organizations, such as Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Children’s Miracle Network.
I cannot imagine how one girl manages to fit all of this in her schedule while maintaining Dean’s List recognition.
When I asked her how other people can follow her example and be this involved, she didn’t blink twice.
“It’s easy! You put yourself out there and spend a lot of time on the Internet looking for things that you are passionate about,” Shoshanna said. “You say you are willing to work for no pay, and you must be open to new experiences.”
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What exactly is Shoshanna’s passion through all of her interests? One big thing; helping others.
“I plan on making my own major called Global Health, and I think I am going to minor in South Asian and Middle Eastern studies,” she said nonchalantly. “After that, medical school.”
I say “nonchalantly” because that is truly how Shoshanna speaks of her accomplishments. She is perhaps the humblest person I have ever had the pleasure of befriending, and her kindness is almost tangible. Her desire to help and understand people is inspiring.
As Shoshanna so elegantly put it: “You follow your passions and you push yourself to your limit every day, and you’ll find a world of opportunities that can be easily taken advantage of.”
*Photography by Karleigh Ash