Doctor In The Making
Sunnyside girl would return to Pakistan to help heal others

Sunnyside resident Sara Butt has known since she was a little girl that she wanted to be a doctor and achieving that goal has motivated her to help others and work hard.
A native of Pakistan, Butt moved to the United States in 2001, formerly living in Forest Hills before moving to Sunnyside. She attended William Cullen Bryant High School in Long Island City, graduating this past spring.
While in high school, Butt said that one activity that she was very proud of was being editor-in-chief of the school's newspaper her senior year, which she said was a big time commitment. She was a member in Key Club, the ARISTA Society, Garden Club and French Club. Butt also was the recipient of the AP Scholar award and was on the principal's honor role.
Butt's involvement has also extended to her community, beginning when she started volunteering at the Sunnyside library as a library page. While working in the children's section, performing tasks such as finding books or translating, she said she learned a great deal of patience.
&#8220I actually really loved it,” Butt said. &#8220It was really a learning experience.”
Last summer, Butt also spent time working as an assistant to a physician's assistant in a private medical clinic in Brooklyn. She said that working in the office helped her realize that she really did want to become a doctor.
Also last summer, through a program with her high school and LaGuardia Community College, Butt became certified as a first responder. Butt described learning how to help someone in case of an emergency until other help could arrive as invaluable experience. She used the training during math class once when a friend who had yet to be diagnosed with epilepsy had a seizure.
&#8220I think the biggest motivation for me is probably my dream of becoming a doctor,” Butt said. &#8220I don't see any other future for myself.”
Butt, who has a brother, also said that her parents have been her biggest inspiration in life.
&#8220Their struggles to get us where we are right now just really inspired me to become the best I can be,” she said. &#8220They're a great part of what I do in life.”
Recently, Butt was one of 15 Queens students selected to receive a Seinfeld Scholarship, which will pay for her entire college education for all four years and is coordinated by the organization PENCIL. She said that it will be an extra motivational factor for her and that it feels great to know that there is someone out there who believes in her and supports her.
&#8220It feels like a blessing from God,” Butt said. &#8220I couldn't be more grateful to Seinfeld and PENCIL.”
Butt will attend Stony Brook University in the fall as a pre-med student, majoring in chemistry and biology. She said that she is waiting to decide on a specialty until she has been exposed to other parts of medicine.
Once she has obtained her medical degree, Butt said that she would like to go back to Pakistan to open a clinic and practice. She said that she wants to help the type of people she saw growing up who were not as blessed as her family.
&#8220I want to use my position as a doctor to help other people because it is those people in the first place who inspired me to become a doctor,” Butt said. &#8220I believe even though I'm one person in life, I can change the future.”