Bibi Donraadt Exemplifies Maryland Made

Only four years ago, Bibi Donraadt had never stepped foot in the United States. Now, as a fifth-year international student and field hockey player on a Pre-Med track, Donraadt exemplifies what it means to be Maryland Made. 

For Donraadt, going to medical school has always been the objective. 

“I knew from a very young age that I wanted to be in medical school, and I needed to do multiple degrees here to get that done,” said Donraadt. 

As a result, the Netherlands native is pursuing a Biology and Psychology double degree and a double minor in Neuroscience and Humanities Health and Medicine on the Pre-Med track. 

“It’s a mouthful,” laughed Donraadt. 

“I got involved with Maryland Made pretty soon after I got here, which was mostly because of World Wide Terps,” said Donraadt. 

World Wide Terps, a Maryland Made leadership group, seeks to support the overall international student-athlete experience. 

“My English wasn’t that great yet,” admits Donraadt. “So it was awesome to be able to get together with all of the other international student-athletes. I made a lot of good friends that I still text everyday.”

Donraadt’s involvement with World Wide Terps and, later, Gossett Fellows put her on the radars of Maryland Made staff members, who encouraged her to stay on track and involved. After the 2020 Pre-Health Terps revamp, the program got more extensive, and Donraadt chose to get on board. 

“I started going to meetings my junior year, and then last year I was able to earn a position on the executive board,” noted Donraadt. “This year, I decided to stay on longer.”

Donraadt’s current position is the Director of International Athlete Recruitment and Engagement, a title she is proud to hold. 

“I still wanted to combine World Wide Terps and Pre-Health Terps, so I am very grateful for the opportunity to be the representative for the international student-athletes.” 

Donraadt draws on her personal experience to inform her Pre-Health Terps executive role. 

“It is a little different depending on what country you’re from to get into professional schools. I, for example, want to go back to the Netherlands to go to medical school,” said Donraadt. “I want to help other international student-athletes that want to go to professional school in their home country or stay in the United States, making this journey a little bit easier for them.” 

“I try to be there for all the members throughout the semester, outside of the meetings,” noted Donraadt. “I have multiple people texting me, especially since I’m a fifth-year, like, ‘oh, what class did you take here…what professor?’ Since there’s not that many student-athletes on the pre-health track, it’s very helpful that we can meet each other this way and help each other out.”

As a Recruitment and Engagement Director, Donraadt also works to create icebreakers and welcome activities for international and domestic student-athletes alike.

“I love to encourage people to get the best out of themselves, to be taking advantage of everything that Maryland Made and the university is giving you.”

Donraadt appreciates the overall supportiveness of Pre-Health Terps. 

“We’re trying to help everybody just get more comfortable on their track to pre-health professional school (pre-med, pre-nurse, pre-dent, everything),” said Donraadt. “Both by being there for each other at meetings, but also through sending out a monthly newsletter with everything that’s going on on-campus. It’s a really fun group!” 

Despite this strong sense of community, Donraadt described the challenges of being a multi-interest international student, especially early on. 

“I definitely held out from being on the board until I was an upperclassman and I was settled in a bit more,” said Donraadt. “The first year or so was a little bit harder, obviously, since you’re trying to understand certain things even before you’re trying to get stuff done.” 

“It was definitely giving up some very fun afternoons and nights to be able to achieve the best possible things in my academic and athletic career. But I also think that it makes it easier if you know what you want.”

Over time, Donraadt did “find her people '' in her collegiate academic, extracurricular, and athletics pursuits. In addition to Maryland Made and Pre-Health, her field hockey team and teammates are a great support system for Donraadt.

“I’m very thankful that Maryland [field hockey] has supported me with the great study hall, with some great friends and a coaching staff that helps me no matter what.”

The midfielder and forward also greatly enjoys serving as a leader on the successful and storied Maryland hockey team. 

“It gets very exciting to help my teammates out in a way that I can prepare them, and therefore the team in the best possible way to win games and win championships,” said Donraadt. “Thinking of the full picture in a positive way, encouraging everybody to get things done to be happy, being the best version of themselves.” 

Donraadt highlighted some major takeaways from her time at Maryland that she plans to take with her on her journey. 

“Don’t be afraid to take on the adventure, even though it might be uncomfortable not speaking the language,” noted Donraadt. “Surround yourself with the best possible people…to help you achieve anything you want.”