Four months before leaving the Philippines to pursue her education in the United States, Simone Myela Apostol (BIO ’27) lost the person who had inspired her to pursue medicine. Heartbroken but resolute, she arrived at BYU determined to navigate both her grief and the unique challenges of being an international student. Though the path ahead felt uncertain, Apostol would soon discover that pressing forward with faith would open a door to healing and give her a renewed sense of purpose.
Apostol was just two years old when her father was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. By the time doctors discovered it, the illness had already reached its final stages, requiring him to begin dialysis—a treatment that cleans the blood and manages fluid levels when the kidneys cannot. “It was really taxing for my family,” Apostol reflects.
Long before her world shifted, Apostol dreamed of attending BYU. Her parents encouraged that dream, teaching her that spirituality and academics strengthen one another. When her father was diagnosed, she committed to pursuing medicine, determined to understand his disease and support him however she could. Losing him altered not only her present life but the one she was preparing for, only months before she left for school.
In the weeks that followed, Apostol lost two of her uncles on her father’s side to other health complications. The compounded losses weighed heavily on her, leaving her unsure if she should still leave home for school. With constant encouragement from her mom, she decided to continue with her plans.
As she prepared to leave, watching her family navigate loss while struggling through a complex healthcare system shifted her perspective. Apostol had seen firsthand that “disease affects not only the person with the disease, but the whole family.” In that realization, she found a renewed sense of purpose: she wanted to study medicine to support families facing similar hardships.
Finding Her Way Forward
From the moment Apostol stepped on campus, she wrestled with homesickness, finding belonging, and adjusting to the differences between Filipino and American culture. Visa restrictions added another layer of difficulty, limiting her ability to complete certain academic requirements. Unlike U.S. students, Apostol cannot work as a CNA or EMT due to her visa status, pushing her to seek alternative ways to gain clinical experience.
Determined as ever, Apostol searched the BYU website for unpaid clinical opportunities and came across hospice care—a concept she hadn’t encountered before. Her journey took an unexpected turn after she began volunteering and met a patient nearing the end of life, who would profoundly impact her own healing.
As she learned about the parallels between the patient’s comorbidities and her father’s—and discovered his deep love of music—she felt a powerful connection. Music had been a shared language between Apostol and her father, who loved artists like ABBA and Coldplay, both of which she still listens to. The patient, who had written thousands of songs, needed help digitizing old cassette tapes so he could keep listening to them. “That experience brought back memories of my dad and reminded me how healing and powerful music can be,” Apostol shares.
Caring for a patient who reminded her of her father changed how she views medicine. She realized that compassion is just as essential as science. “Patients are not just their diseases,” she shares. “They have a story. They have family.” She hopes to build a career that unites knowledge and empathy, striving to emulate Christ by creating a place of safety, healing, and love for her patients.
Through the challenges she faced, Apostol came to understand the impact affliction can have on faith. “Trials can either strengthen or weaken your faith,” she says. Her experiences have taught her to lean on God in moments of suffering and recognize His presence in small acts of love. Reflecting on her time in hospice care, Apostol believes that God offers healing through opportunities to serve others. “Affliction can actually refine faith,” she expresses, “and it gives us strength to serve others with empathy and love.”