MEET YOUR HALAD GAMSAT TUTOR: HANNAH
HANNAH TUTORS SECTION 2!
Halad to Health is a NFP that runs Australia’s most affordable GAMSAT tuition students, where all proceeds raised from tuition fees go directly towards the Halad to Health Foundation Philippines, to give access to proper health education to students in rural Philippines.
Here’s A Bit About Hannah
I grew up in Ballarat and moved to Melbourne in 2017 to study the Bachelor of Science at the University of Melbourne. I originally thought I wanted to be an engineer but after a year of maths and engineering subjects I figured it wasn’t quite for me and turned my interests to biology instead!
I am now in my second year of Medicine with the University of Melbourne. Despite first year not looking quite like we’d planned (thank ya COVID-19) we still got through and I am now in a rural town for placement and am loving it!
In my first year of undergrad one of my close friends passed away from Meningococcal Meningitis, -it came as a total shock and made me re-think what I was doing in life and where I wanted to end up.
I feel like deep down medicine was always in the back of my mind, but I never had the confidence to fully admit it as something I wanted to pursue, I think due to a fear of failure. Going through the death of my friend Emma made me realise that there wouldn’t be anything gained from hiding away and deferring to an easier option. So, I took my chances and through hard work and a bit of luck it panned out!
I think the thing that excites me most about studying medicine are the endless opportunities we have in terms of our career trajectories. Currently I am interested in basic physician training and potentially geriatrics, however each day I spend on the wards it feels like I learn about so many other specialties and opportunities that I might have in the future. I am definitely keeping all my doors open for now!
Alongside medicine I have a number of hobbies, I often find myself saying yes to too many things but I honestly love being busy. Currently my favourite hobbies are cyclocross riding, crocheting, cooking, playing guitar, looking after my houseplants, and catching up with friends! Oh, and I couldn’t forget drinking coffee!
I Had A ROCKY GAMSAT Journey
I sat the GAMSAT 3 times before I was happy with my scores.
The first time was a classic ‘practice run’, I had studied a little, but I really didn’t know what I was doing or how I should’ve spent my time. I wasn’t overly happy with my results, but I guess I was glad to have understood how the exam and day worked.
I decided to resist in September later that year, my scores improved but I was still unhappy with my result and I started to doubt my abilities to improve enough to be competitive for medicine.
The final time I sat the GAMSAT was in my third year of undergrad in March. This time I planned my studying more effectively and tried to work smarter not harder. As a consequence, I finally got a result I was happy with! The previous times I’d studied for the GAMSAT I always found it difficult to balance university work, my other interests and GAMSAT study, but I think finding a balance between all 3 really helped me to do better.
To be honest throughout the process I never really felt like I knew what I was doing, and I certainly wish I reached out to more friends also sitting the GAMSAT so I didn’t feel so alone when studying!
The Way I Teach Section 2 Is All About consistency, collaboration and getting involved!
One of the benefits of signing up to Halad’s GAMSAT courses is the fact that you aren’t in it alone. You get to come along each week to collaborate and improve with likeminded students.
I value being able to share ideas and making your voice heard. In order to succeed in section 2 you need to have confidence in your voice and opinions, and I hope to cultivate a safe space where you feel comfortable contributing so we can all improve our ideas together!
Hopefully by the time you come to sitting your GAMSAT you can look forward to the break from methodical thinking of section 1 and 3 and have confidence in your essay writing style.
If You’re In My Class, Ask Me About Surf Boat Rowing!
Over the summer months I volunteer with St Kilda Life Saving Club and I am also a member in their Surf Boat crew! Surf rowing is like river rowing except with bigger boats and waves! (So it’s much more fun).
Due to the unpredictable nature of the surf when we have competitions there’s a rule that in order to qualify for finishing a race you just need 3 rowers and 3 oars out of the 5 that started to cross the line! Luckily, I’ve never fallen out of the boat in a race but I have snapped an oar (EEK).
Feel free to contact Hannah at hannah@haladtohealth.org anytime!
