Sagar Chapagain came to Nebraska because of a UNMC pathway program.
His path, however, was a little more winding than some.
Born in Nepal, Chapagain and his family moved to the United States in 2011. He first attended community college in Baltimore, working several jobs – including shift manager at a Dunkin Donuts – to help support his family as he dreamed of becoming a doctor.
On March 17, that dream comes true as Chapagain and the other members of the UNMC College of Medicine’s Class of 2023 attend the annual Match Day ceremony.
And it might not have happened, he said, if not for UNMC’s summer health education program.
While studying at the Community College of Baltimore County in 2014, “I was working multiple jobs to help support my family,” he said. “I was still learning the language and navigating the system. I wanted to be a doctor, but I didn’t know how to do it.”
A friend suggested he apply to what was then UNMC’s Summer Medical and Dental Education Program. (The program now is called the Summer Health Professions Education Program.)
Chapagain was excited to learn what the program could teach him, and he was surprised that he really enjoyed Nebraska.
“The people were nice,” he said. “It was a very friendly and warm environment, and that’s who I am as a person.”
During that 2014 summer program, Chapagain learned about pathways to medical school, including employment and internship opportunities that would strengthen his application.
He also learned that his dream was attainable.
“This was my first exposure to medicine,” he said. “Not only did I shadow medical students and physicians, but I saw physicians who came from disadvantaged backgrounds here, and that gave me inspiration and confidence that I could become one of them.”
Another revelation? Nebraska is a pretty nice place.
“I naturally was attracted to this positive, warm environment, where I could try to become the doctor I always imagined I could be — a culturally competent and compassionate physician who could be there for the patient,” he said.
So Chapagain decided to apply to medical school, after he:
- graduated as valedictorian of his community college class;
- received the Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship to finish his undergraduate degree at Cornell University;
- served as a research intern at both the National Institutes of Health and Johns Hopkins;
- graduated Cornell and worked as a researcher at both the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and then at Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute;
And, when applying, he thought maybe it would be nice to go back to Nebraska.
“If I had not gone through the summer program, I’m not sure if I would have come here,” he said. “I wouldn’t have known about the program and all the amazing and wonderful people. But ultimately, the decision was an easy one, because I had gone through the program, and I knew the people were nice and I would get incredible training here in Nebraska.”
Soon, Chapagain may be leaving Nebraska again. He hopes to match in internal medicine – “the best specialty!” he said – and knows his path may lead to a new adventure.
Still, “I feel very fortunate to have trained here,” he said. “This place is amazing, and, more importantly, this place is not afraid of change. This is an innovative place.”
“I don’t know where I’m going for my match, but wherever I go, I take a piece of UNMC and Omaha with me,” he said.