Isabella Riccardi
Dr. Robert Steven Ledley Endowed Scholarship Recipient, Fall 2024
You’ve come this far in your educational career, so you owe it to yourself to keep pushing and always work as hard as you can.
About Isabella
Isabella is from Oak Hill, Virginia. Before coming to Georgetown Biomedical Graduate Education, she earned a B.S. in Forensic Science with a minor in Chemistry and a B.S. in Biology from Virginia Commonwealth University.
Tell us about the scholarship you received.
The scholarship I received was in honor of Dr. Robert Steven Ledley, a Georgetown professor who invented the first whole-body CT scanner. The scholarship fund was established by the National Biomedical Research Foundation and Dr. Ledley’s family. I received my scholarship from Dr. Sona Vasudevan, the director for my M.S. program and the faculty member who has helped me find my place in this program.
What motivates you?
My friends and family. I wouldn’t be the person that I am today without their love, and I work hard every day because of their support. Everything that I am and that I have done today is thanks to my friends and family.
What do you want to do after earning your degree?
I plan to take a gap year and work (hopefully at the NIH) for a year while I apply to medical school! I hope to start as a medical student in the fall of 2026 and eventually work in orthopedics.
What advice would you give to future BGE students?
One piece of advice I can give is to always work hard. Some concepts may come easier to you than others, however, nothing can be achieved without hard work. You’ve come this far in your educational career, so you owe it to yourself to keep pushing and always work as hard as you can.