As a student at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Eden Tewodros – a senior in the class of 2025 there – has been volunteering in the emergency room at the nearby MedStar Montgomery Medical Center.
Her passion for working in public health was sparked by a visit to her parents’ native Ethiopia when she was about 7 years old, and seeing how some people there did not always have access to clean water.
“I’m much more grateful living in this country,” she said, adding, “I want to help people. I think health equity is a big deal.”
She hopes to someday practice medicine in the United States and perhaps volunteer as a doctor overseas.
“I’m most interested in cardiology,” she said, noting how cardiac health impacts Americans, and “heart disease affects minority groups in a significant way. In the public health side, I want to be able to work and counteract that.”
While helping out at the ER at MedStar Montgomery, Tewodros was a patient therapy advocate, which she joked is “a fancy word for volunteer.” Her duties included making rounds to the different rooms and checking supplies.
“I love the patient interaction side of things,” she said, noting that she got to see a variety of patients being cared for, including elderly people who had fallen, and others suffering from chronic illnesses.
Tewodros – a leader in the Future Medical Students of America Club at Good Counsel – has received a full scholarship to attend the University of Maryland at College Park, where she plans to major in public health on a pre-med track.
The 17-year-old, a first generation American born at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, said she is inspired by the example of her immigrant parents and how they have demonstrated “the value of hard work” and adjusting to a new country and a new language as they sought opportunities to build a better life for themselves and their family.
Her father, Tewodros Ramet, works in human resources for Montgomery County, and immigrated to the United States from Ethiopia as a teenager. Her mother, Lia Zegeye, works in the aviation industry and immigrated to Sweden as a teenager, later competing with the national karate team there before moving to the United States.
Before attending Our Lady of Good Counsel, Eden Tewodros graduated from St. Jude Regional Catholic School in Rockville, where her younger brother Noah Tewodros is a seventh grader.
Eden Tewodros said her favorite classes at Good Counsel included IB math and biology in the International Baccalaureate Program there, and Advanced Placement psychology. Her activities at the school included playing as a fullback on the girls’ soccer team and serving on the Social Justice and Inclusion Leadership Committee.
“The biggest thing is the teachers, they have shaped my experience,” she said, praising how they are always available to help.
As her May 22 graduation from Our Lady of Good Counsel approached, Eden Tewodros reflected on the impact of her Catholic education there and at St. Jude Regional Catholic School. Good Counsel is a Xaverian Brothers sponsored school.
“I definitely think it’s taught me how to be more empathetic and to serve,” she said, noting Good Counsel’s Xaverian values emphasizing service to the poor and marginalized.
Tewodros – whose family practices the Ethiopian Orthodox faith – said her faith has deepened after attending Catholic schools, and that has shaped her dream of working in public health.
“It’s part of my vocation,” she said. “I believe my vocation is to help and serve others through their health.”
