Thant: A Heart for Service, A Future in Medicine

“When Thant begins his Sunday morning shift with his smile and calm demeanor, we know that our visitors will be warmly welcomed and will be assisted quickly,” – Karen Schraer-Molitors, Customer Support Representative.

Thant, a 2025 Junior Volunteer Scholarship winner at Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center, became interested in healthcare as a child. Originally from Myanmar, Thant observed homelessness and food insecurity. His reflections on these conditions gave him empathy, compassion and an interest in providing healthcare to erase these inequities. Thant’s curiosity about healthcare even guided his choice of what to watch on television. “Watching Chicago Med instilled not only an interest in the biological and chemical processes of the body, but also the field of medicine.”

Those interests led him to become a student volunteer at Shady Grove Medical Center. With a personable demeanor, he was an ideal fit for the Guest & Visitor Services in the main lobby. Every Sunday morning, Thant kindly helped visitors navigate the hospital. Thant treated every conversation with care, making guests and team members feel comfortable and valued. He exemplifies the hospital’s high standards for volunteers, explained Jewel Thompson, Director of Volunteers, Guest Services and Telecommunications.  “As with all volunteers, I encourage them to perform to the best of their ability. I remind them that they are ambassadors for the hospital and the first impression the visitors take with them during their visit will be a lasting impression.”  

Along with volunteering at Shady Grove Medical Center, Thant spends his free time making meals at a local homeless shelter. Both experiences inform his goal, which is “to intercede at the intersection of homelessness and healthcare,” Thant wrote in his scholarship application.

Thant spent 179 hours volunteering at Shady Grove Medical Center. In the fall, he entered University of Maryland in College Park, majoring in biochemistry and pursuing a profession as a physician’s assistant. He will carry the lessons and support he received here into his next research, clinical and volunteering experiences, he said, with his many friends at Shady Grove Medical Center cheering him along the way.  

If you, family or friends are interested in volunteering, you can learn more or sign up.