Why do we love these people? They’ve got brains, heart, skills and smarts

The dragon roars: In March, Drexel University biological sciences junior Zaarah Abdul-Aziz, 21, crushed fellow contestants on the College Spring Break episode of Wheel of Fortune, winning a trip to Belize and $16,900, which can help fund medical school, post-Drexel. The Levittown resident has been planning a medical career since age 2, she says, when she started watching episodes of Babies: Special Delivery on the Discovery Health Channel. She’s leaning toward going into orthopedic surgery.

Ahead of the curve: On April 13, Bridget Llull, 17, hosted her third consecutive fashion show at King of Prussia Mall to benefit young women with scoliosis. The models who strutted their stuff for “Embracing the Curve” all wear back braces, as Llull herself did before undergoing surgery to straighten her spine. Llull, a senior at Archbishop Carroll High School, is founder of the Philadelphia chapter of the Curvy Girls Scoliosis support group. For the show, she sought out sponsorship, partnered with King of Prussia Mall, and worked with retailers to provide “brace-friendly” clothing for the girls to comfortably and proudly model. More info: https://www.curvygirlsscoliosis.com/

A stitch in time: Seamstresses Helen Cunningham and Suzanne Becker manage The Menders, whose 30-plus volunteers repair clothing, backpacks, and other personal items for guests at Broad Street Ministry (315 S. Broad St., Philadelphia), which provides daily meals and other assistance to the hungry and poor. The Menders, who started their mission eight years ago, have just expanded their weekly services to respite center Hub of Hope (Two Penn Center, Suburban Station). “It’s a wonderful, no-bureaucracy, quick-fix exchange,” says Cunningham. “Bring your problem item to us, go have lunch, come back and pick it up.” The Menders, who hope to replicate the program elsewhere, could always use more volunteers. For more information, email sbecker212@gmail.com.

The teacher’s ticker: Central High grad and Temple University engineering professor David Brookstein often visits his high school alma mater to discuss with students the myriad ways that engineering miraculously impacts the lives of ordinary people. These days, he’s making his case with a new Exhibit A: his own heart. He recently underwent heart surgery, during which he was kept alive by a heart-and-lung machine while surgeons replaced his damaged aortic valve with a new, bio-prosthetic one. “It’s a prime example of how modern engineering and design thinking literally helped to save and extend my life,” Brookstein tells students. “If I had this issue, say, in 1967, I wouldn’t be alive.” Still, he adds, the field of engineering is ever-evolving. “The solutions that were cutting-edge when I sat where you are, they’re a thing of the past. It’s up to your generation to create the new ones.”