Meet Rachel Hodakowski, the Play Lead Unite and Serve (PLUS) Chair for UNC’s Women’s Rugby team! As PLUS Chair, Hodakowski organizes volunteering events for her team and facilitates additional ways they can be involved in the community. Hodakowski is double majoring in biology and English and minoring in chemistry!
Hodakowski entered her college career believing that she would major in biology alone owing to her healthcare-centered academic and professional pursuits. However, after taking Healers and Patients (ENGL 71H) with Prof. Kim Weed, she soon realized that majoring in English could help her path to PA school:
“This course included readings from novels such as Abby Norman’s Ask Me About My Uterus and an oral history project where we investigated local firsthand accounts with medicine; these assignments served to open my eyes to the health humanities and the non-clinical side of healthcare.”
In speaking to how her studies in the DOECL have influenced her other academic pursuits, Hodakowski said:
“I believe that studying English, specifically with my focus in the health humanities, makes me strive to be a better healthcare provider. I think it is important to view patients as humans and not just bodies, which can be hard to remember when you focus on the physical features of a disease. Reading firsthand accounts of illness has given me a better understanding of health in our society and the potential a provider has to influence someone positively. Additionally, I believe that studying English has contributed to my success with my biology major by strengthening my critical thinking skills and making interpreting biological data and communicating this information easier.”
Hodakowski also identified ways that her athletic interests have influenced her studies in English! She joined the rugby team in her freshman year as a way to connect with campus and her peers. She had never played the sport before but “quickly found a place within its community.” This helped her develop a stronger sense of self-confidence. She attributes this initial leap into rugby to her “eagerness to try something new academically–majoring in English.”
When discussing her growth in self-confidence since that first year, she also added that her time in the DOECL has helped in this personal journey and, in turn, has helped her on the pitch:
“Entering the English department, I felt some discomfort and was unsure about whether I would be successful. I enjoyed my initial health humanities courses, but I was unsure about taking ‘typical’ English classes. Obviously some of English is more subjective than my STEM subjects, and there is a certain vulnerability that comes with sharing my writing with others. Sometimes I still feel a bit like an imposter in my British literature classes or in other courses that are not directly tied to my career interests, but this feeling has decreased as I have gotten further into the English major. Lately, I have also given myself the flexibility to take courses just for the fun of it–including ENGL 381 Literature and Cinema with Dr. Cohen. I took this course as someone who enjoys watching movies but had not engaged with the art of screenplays. I do not generally consider myself as someone who is gifted in the arts, but Dr. Cohen really grew my confidence in analyzing these pieces and creating arguments. This confidence in myself definitely helps with playing rugby. There is a bit of self-doubt that can come from this sport. Sometimes there is someone running at you who is a lot larger than you, and you can have this split second of uncertainty about making a tackle. By no means do I never miss a tackle, but I think this general confidence in myself has decreased my hesitancy and improved my value on the field.”
After graduation, Hodakowski plans on going to PA school, though she is currently unsure about exactly which specialty she will decide on joining. She also recently received her EMT certification last fall, and part of what drew her to this was what she had seen with sports injuries. She is now her team’s risk management officer! When discussing overlaps between her academic interests and post-graduation plans, she added:
“As I mentioned with my focus on the health humanities, I believe that my English studies will make me a more empathetic and well-rounded provider. In addition to ENGL 71H, I took ENGL 269 (Intro to Disability Studies) with Dr. Weed. Closely reading texts from different perspectives–including those who have been failed by our systems–has shaped my worldview. I have had the opportunity in these courses to approach critical topics such as medical aid in dying (MAID), disability justice, and the coverage gap. Although I do not plan to enter an “English-centric” field, I truly believe that studying English can contribute to every career. It informs perspectives while also growing practical skills in communication and understanding that are beneficial to everyone.”
