We congratulate Lulu Hunter of the Academy of St. Elizabeth in Morristown, NJ, for a wonderful poem and essay! The prompt was to write a versus rapportati style poem based on an example by Martha Marchina (1600-1646) on the theme: "a woman who inspires you."
"Dr. Joyce Hill"
Medica, Mater, Activista, curat, invenit, inspirat
iuvenes, familias, populum, remedio, amore, virtute.
The woman that has inspired me throughout my life is Dr. Joyce Hill. Dr. Hill is a medical doctor, and founder of New Hope Foundation, which provides medical treatment for sick children, surgical interventions for those with correctable needs, and loving care for those requiring a palliative approach to abandoned babies in Beijing, China. In November 2002, they started work on what would become New Hope Foundation’s Hope Healing Home in Beiwu, in the Shunyi district of Beijing. This new home cared for 26 babies at that time and was run by New Hope Foundation Limited, which is wholly owned by the Hills. Ever since that year, the New Hope Foundation continues to expand and take care of babies and children with special needs.
Dr. Hill is an extraordinary person who has personally impacted my life in a great way. I was born in China in 2004 with a condition called talipes equinovarus or in other words, bilateral clubfoot. I was one of the children Dr. Hill cared for in the New Hope Foundation. Dr. Hill tended to my medical needs, provided me a foster home, and helped facilitate my adoption. Because of her, I now have a loving home, family, friends, and boundless opportunities. Dr. Hill dedicates her life to children with special needs, like me. This foundation that Dr. Hill created is the definition of selflessness and inspires me to do the same. I am thankful for her and all of the great deeds she has done for me and this encourages me to give back to people who need it most, as Dr. Hill did. Using my compassion, I would love to help children with special needs and pursue a career in the medical field.
While writing my poem describing Dr. Joyce Hill, I wanted to ensure that my word choices reflected what Dr. Hill represents. I chose words like a mother and guide because she is a motherly figure to many children in China. Dr. Hill guides them to medical treatments and eventually to their forever family. She brings children into her life and assures she positively impacts them; assures them to good health and have a good life, like me. I chose the word activist because Dr. Hill fights because she works tirelessly to ensure that each child's physical, emotional, and spiritual needs are met.
The word placement of this poem is essential to who Dr. Joyce Hill is. In the first sentence, I explained that she is a doctor who heals children to the best of her capabilities. Without this background in medicine, Dr. Hill and her foundation would not be the same. In the next sentence, I explain, not only a mother to her own children but to many more to those who do not have mothers. One of her jobs is to find loving parents who will adopt these children. Lastly, she is an activist who dedicated her life to these children, which greatly inspires me.