Neda Zarrabizadeh

Student

“The classes at SMC are very hard. It’s a real challenge, but I’m sure I’ll make it. Nothing worthwhile in life comes easy.”

For two days, Neda Zarrabizadeh was basically out of touch with the world. It was Rosh Hashana, and Jewish people all over the world had been celebrating the coming of the New Year, 5755, on the Jewish calendar. “For those two days I had been in the temple from morning until noon and then coming back in the afternoon until evening,” explains Neda. “My religion is very important to me, but it’s also very hard. I’ve been fasting, you see,” she says with a laugh, “and today I almost fainted.”

SMC is actually the first non-Jewish school that Neda has attended. “I’ve never been far from my religion,” she says. “My family came out of Iran about eight years ago and then I ended up in a Jewish high school in LA, where I graduated last year. I made it!” As pleased as she is to have made it through high school, Neda reports that she’s even more grateful to have found a new country. “It was basically very bad in Iran,” she recalls. “Women have to cover their hair, and they can’t wear makeup. There is a very restrictive attitude towards women there and they have a very low status. I found it very repressive.” But if things go according to her plans at SMC, Neda will achieve a certain amount of status at USC’s Dental School.

“Life and business are very tough, very competitive these days—even for doctors,” she says. “But people are always going to have teeth,” she adds with a laugh. “And I will be there to fix them.” Immersing herself in general education at the moment, Neda has had a taste of all the pre-med classes to come in her psychology class with Candyce Goodfellow. “I really love her classes because she has a great sense of humor,” says Neda. “I always look for teachers that can make a class enjoyable while at the same time they are challenging you.”

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