{"id":96874,"date":"2023-03-02T09:16:35","date_gmt":"2023-03-02T15:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=96874"},"modified":"2023-03-08T12:01:23","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T18:01:23","slug":"match-day-the-end-of-a-winding-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2023\/03\/02\/match-day-the-end-of-a-winding-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Match Day next step in student’s winding path"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Sagar Chapagain came to Nebraska because of a UNMC pathway program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His path, however, was a little more winding than some.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Born in Nepal, Chapagain and his family moved to the United States in 2011. He first attended community college in Baltimore, working several jobs \u2013 including shift manager at a Dunkin Donuts \u2013 to help support his family as he dreamed of becoming a doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 17, that dream comes true as Chapagain and the other members of the UNMC College of Medicine\u2019s Class of 2023 attend the annual Match Day ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it might not have happened, he said, if not for UNMC\u2019s summer health education program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While studying at the Community College of Baltimore County in 2014, \u201cI was working multiple jobs to help support my family,\u201d he said. \u201cI was still learning the language and navigating the system. I wanted to be a doctor, but I didn\u2019t know how to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Chapagain\u2019s \u201cLetter to an Incoming Medical Student\u201d on the American College of Physicians website.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A friend suggested he apply to what was then UNMC\u2019s Summer Medical and Dental Education Program. (The program now is called the Summer Health Professions Education Program.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chapagain was excited to learn what the program could teach him, and he was surprised that he really enjoyed Nebraska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe people were nice,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was a very friendly and warm environment, and that\u2019s who I am as a person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During that 2014 summer program, Chapagain learned about pathways to medical school, including employment and internship opportunities that would strengthen his application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also learned that his dream was attainable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis was my first exposure to medicine,\u201d he said. \u201cNot 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another revelation? Nebraska is a pretty nice place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Chapagain decided to apply to medical school, after he:<\/p>\n\n\n\n