Hannah Rey came from Midland, Texas to Texas Wesleyan not by luck, but because of the opportunities.

“Financially I got a tennis scholarship, and they had a biology program that was close to the medical district. I wanted to give myself an opportunity to immerse myself into the medical district in DFW,” Rey said.

Rey who has been involved in tennis for 15 years, has been playing since she was only seven years old. At Wesleyan, she’s been recognized not only for tennis ability, but also for her academics as a SAC Scholar-Athlete and a member of the Tri Beta Honor Society.

As for her plans with tennis after college, it looks as if she will be hanging up the court shoes. “Of course, on paper, I would love to pursue tennis, but I don’t think my future will include tennis,” she said.

Rey plans to enter the medical field, which is nothing new to her family. “I have a really big family, and a lot of my girl cousins have pursued the medical field. As of right now, I have three who are in medical school right now,” she said.

While her family guided her, going into the medical field was something Rey always wanted to pursue.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to be a doctor. When I was little it was innocent because I just wanted to help people, but as I got to know the medical field better throughout life, I realized that biology was definitely something I liked,” she said.

Rey plans to take her Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) in January 2021 and start preparing for the vigorous schedule of a medical school student.

“I hope to apply to med school in the early-decision period, which is by May 1. Then I’m going to go through my application process, which includes primaries, secondaries, and interviews that start in September, so I hope I can get one or two interviews with medical schools,” Rey said.

Rey believes in holding on to your dream, “no matter what anybody says or thinks about you.”

“My dream has been to become a physician, and there’s definitely been a lot of hardships and negativity,” she said. “There’s a lot of people who say, ‘I don’t think you’re a good fit for that,’ but it really doesn’t matter what anyone says.

“I think it’s super important to empower people, and I want to let people know no matter what their dream looks like or what their life looks like at that moment, they can definitely accomplish whatever they want, regardless of the situation or of what people are telling them.”

Story by Nick Hains