Sophia grew up in Long Beach, CA with her parents Walter and Ivy Schroeder. She spent most of her childhood playing sports and enjoying California's incredible beaches, mountains, and cities with friends and family! 

Sophia is finishing her final year at BYU, and her graduation will be this April 2023. While at BYU, she studied Cell Biology and Physiology. She is currently an undergraduate research assistant in an on-campus lab, studying mechanisms to improve diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart disease.

This May, Sophia will travel to Quito, Ecuador for a month-long BYU Global Health Internship. There, she will live with a local family, shadow providers, and improve her medical Spanish skills. Sophia's mother and uncle immigrated from Ecuador to California with Sophia's grandparents when they were very young, and their experiences and family ties will make this trip even more meaningful.

Outside of BYU, Sophia works as a medical assistant and scribe at a family medicine office. She loves learning from the providers she works with, and this experience in particular has solidified her decision to pursue a career in medicine.

Sophia plans to be a Physician Assistant, and she will be applying to PA programs across the country within the next year. She is so excited to see where she and Ryan end up as they both work towards their future careers as health care providers!

Ryan loves sharing his hobbies and interests with others. He loves spending time with family and friends, playing board games, and using his Spanish.

Ryan was born and raised in the Sacramento area. His parents Todd and Lisa Hanson are both Sacramento area locals. Ryan is the oldest of 3 children, followed by his two younger sisters, Brittney and Kimberly.

He and his family moved to their home in Roseville when he was 4 years old. Ryan enjoyed playing soccer, volleyball, and baseball and participating in student government. After graduating from Woodcreek High School in 2017, he attended Brigham Young University for a semester before leaving on a two year church service mission in Puerto Rico. Ryan arrived just shortly after the devastating hurricanes that year and spent much of his time on hurricane cleanup. 

After finishing his mission, he returned to BYU where he met Sophia. They were both taking the same Spanish class that semester, which was one of the many ways they bonded early on.

He is now finishing his fourth year at Brigham Young University in the Mechanical Engineering program and will graduate in April of 2024 from BYU. Over the last few years, he has found confidence in his decision to become a physician. He is preparing for the MCAT and will apply to medical schools just a few weeks before the wedding. Ryan hopes to hear back great news (in the form of acceptances to medical schools) late this year and into the next.