What has been your best/most memorable experience while at Johns Hopkins?

One of the reasons I chose to attend Johns Hopkins was the opportunity to work with and learn from members of the Baltimore City community. My most memorable experience here, therefore, will always be serving as coordinator for the Brotherhood Alliance for Science and Education (BASE). This pipeline program through the Student National Medical Association works to instill the importance of community service, community empowerment and academic excellence in Baltimore City high school students. Mentors in the program (my classmates) would spend each Wednesday afternoon with the students, with half the time dedicated to academics and the other half to playing basketball with the students. It was wonderful seeing the students matriculate through high school and many be admitted to four-year colleges and other tracks that fit their career aspirations.

What would you most like to be remembered for?

As the oldest of three boys and a first-generation Ghanaian immigrant, I think I would like to be remembered as someone who always prioritized the important things — family, friends — while working diligently to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills to care for patients. I have two younger brothers who I’m very proud of, both pursuing careers that they are deeply passionate about. One is a senior at the University of Maryland, College Park studying political science to apply for law school. The other is a rising junior at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County studying mechanical engineering.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

During my time at Hopkins, I participated in the MERIT Health Leadership Academy, through which I was matched with a high school sophomore in the city. After years of sharing knowledge and experiences with each other, one of the best days of my life was when he was admitted and decided to matriculate to the same college that I attended — UNC Chapel Hill!

Boateng matched to Massachusetts General Hospital for general surgery.

What has been your best/most memorable experience while at Johns Hopkins?

I had a patient care experience that, I believe, exemplifies the best parts of being at Hopkins. While on a team treating a woman for an asthma exacerbation, we learned about the complex social, community and home factors that contributed to her asthma and overall health status. In response, our team worked to provide her with the resources, tools and connections she needed to address these issues. I was proud to be part of a team that was not only satisfied with treating her medical disease, but also wanted to learn her story, understand the context of her illness and address her barriers to care. I hope to emulate this quality of health care throughout my career and life.

On a more personal note, I met my future fiancé and very best friends here in the school of medicine. In many ways, Hopkins gave me a family, and I will always be grateful for that.

What would you most like to be remembered for?

My sister and I are the first members of our family to go to medical school. Our mom immigrated from Peru as a teenager and was a single mother while working and going back to school. Growing up, we watched many of our monolingual Spanish-speaking relatives struggle to get adequate access to health care. A seminal moment for me occurred when my grandfather was close to passing and we were discussing the critical impact Latinx doctors have had on his life. He advised me to become a Spanish-speaking physician who could care for people like our family. Throughout my career, I hope to provide the highest quality health care to individuals from vulnerable populations, be a voice for disadvantaged communities and eliminate health care disparities.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

On the first day of medical school, I met my classmate and future fiancé for the first time. During that day, while seated next to each other, we were lectured by several physicians who started their talks by saying, “I remember meeting my spouse on the first day of medical school — who knows, you could be sitting next to them now.” We laughed it off at the time, but it’s funny to see how it all turned out. We have both agreed to start talks the same way if we ever speak to a medical student class!

Nicole matched to UPMC Medical Education for obstetrics-gynecology.

What has been your best/most memorable experience while at Johns Hopkins?

The highlight of my Hopkins experience has definitely been the relationships that I’ve built with classmates (one of whom is now my fiancée!), labmates and mentors along the way. I found a particularly strong sense of community in the Department of Neurosurgery. The department has an incredible environment that encourages medical student involvement and instills a passion for innovation in us. It’s been a privilege to work on a variety of exciting research projects and to learn from leaders in the field. I’m especially grateful to have made many lifelong friendships along the way.

What would you most like to be remembered for?

I hope I’ll be remembered for fostering a sense of community in the school of medicine, particularly for students interested in surgical specialties. I’ve enjoyed serving as a peer mentor in various capacities and always tried to embody the philosophy of “paying it forward.” One of my favorite experiences was organizing a neurosurgical cadaver lab for first-year medical students during their gross anatomy course. The event was a blast and hopefully inspired some students to consider exploring a career in neurosurgery.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I completed a business minor at UNC-Chapel Hill and worked full-time in health care consulting before medical school. I’m hoping to marry those experiences in business with my interests in academic neurosurgery in order to make an impact on the field.

Being an alumnus of UNC, I’m also a huge fan of Carolina basketball. I’m accustomed to some level of stress each March with the NCAA basketball tournament, but March Madness takes on a whole new meaning when Match Day is thrown into the mix!

Sakib matched to UPMC Medical Education for neurological surgery.

What has been your best/most memorable experience while at Johns Hopkins? 

On my first clinical rotation as a part of the Aliki Initiative Team at Johns Hopkins Bayview, we visited the home of one of the patients who was recently discharged from the hospital. During the visit, the patient looked at me and matter-of-factly stated, “You are medicine.” I gently restructured the language, replying that yes, we are the internal medicine team. He laughed and explained that we as people were medicine, that our attention, smiles, and simply being there for him and his wife – that was better than any pill or procedure we could ever give him. This patient taught me that medicine at its core means to help each patient in a way that they need, no task too small; to be the medicine a person needs.

What would you most like to be remembered for? 

I would like to be remembered for being the daughter of an elementary school counselor and an Air Force officer who raised their children to be kind and compassionate towards others, which led me to become the first in my family to go to medical school and now become a physician. 

Tell us a fun fact about yourself.

I have been dancing since I was three years old; dance afforded me many opportunities throughout my life, including training and performing with the professional ballet companies Montgomery Ballet and Colorado Ballet, competing and performing as the captain of the Florida State University Golden Girls Dance Team, and performing and teaching as a member of the Hopkins Dance Company. Dance also provided a platform for teaching and leadership, as a dance instructor for Universal Dance Association summer camps across the United States and the Living Classrooms Under Armour House at Fayette after-school program in Baltimore. 

After college, I moved to Oxford, United Kingdom in pursuit of my Master of Science in Clinical Embryology at the University of Oxford as a part of the Frost Scholarship Programme. I greatly enjoyed an enriching environment of intellectually-stimulating student life, world-renown lectures and mentoring, and moreover, the ability to learn amongst brilliant, diverse classmates from across the world. Now, I plan to continue to use my knowledge of embryology in my career as a future pediatrician! 

Barbara matched to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for pediatrics.