Photo by Danny Fulgencio

Senior Gina Miele was so passionate about attending The Hockaday School that she endured a one-hour commute from Forney. During that time, she found her true passions: tutoring at Tom C. Gooch Elementary, volunteering at United to Learn and serving Medical Imaging Ministries of the Americas to bring ultrasound technology to underserved areas around the world. 

She has a sister, who attends Hockaday, and three brothers, two of whom attend Cistercian Preparatory School in Irving — a longer commute.

While traveling to and from school, the family listened to books on tape, including classics such as “Jane Eyre” and “Wuthering Heights.” She also studied and slept a lot in the car. “The silver lining about this situation with shelter-in-place and online learning is that we don’t have to spend so much time commuting in the car,” she says.

Miele plans to attend Dartmouth College.

Since freshman year at Hockaday, she tutored at Tom C. Gooch Elementary each Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon. During her junior and senior years, she served as a co-head of the program. In addition, she was secretary of the Hope Supply Co. Teen Board, which works to provide homeless children with essential items and organizes fundraisers to raise money for the group. Last summer, she participated in the Opportunity Gap Immersion hosted by United to Learn and spent a week traveling around Dallas to learn about issues such as homelessness, food insecurity, the environment and education.

During the coronavirus pandemic, she helped lead a United to Learn reading program, which involved high school students creating videos of themselves reading books for Dallas ISD elementary schools. She read “The Giving Tree” and “Big Dog, Little Dog” in Spanish.

“Gina has the ability to make deep connections with the people she touches and inspires,” says Katherine Tagtmeier, chief programs officer of United to Learn. “She is a remarkable listener who is skilled at understanding sources of inequity and addressing them.”
    Last summer, Miele worked with Medical Imaging Ministries of the Americas. A radiologist taught her thyroid, abdomen, OBGYN and kidney ultrasound protocols designed to be taught to non-medical personnel. She then traveled to Peru with the organization visiting clinics in the Andes Mountains and teaching ultrasound protocols.

“Gina is the embodiment of purpose and impact in action,” says Laura Day, founding director of the Institute for Social Impact at Hockaday. “She is committed to making the world a better place through her commitment to empathy.”