OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — For medical students like Sagar Chapagain, who started his medical journey to become a doctor at a UNMC summer program, Match Day is a big deal.
“We go through four years of medical school," he said. "We work so hard for this day.”
Nebraska native and fellow UNMC medical student Natasha Hongsermeier-Graves agrees.
"I’m the first person in my family to not only obtain a four-year college degree but also an MD," she said. "I hope that I’ve made my family proud."
They each have their own stories on how they got to this point. Chapagain immigrated to the U.S. from Nepal with the dream of becoming a doctor. He went from a community college in Baltimore to Cornell, Harvard and Johns Hopkins University before returning to UNMC as a med student.
"Little did I know that I was going to come back to Nebraska for medical school later on," said Chapagain. "It's interesting how things play out."
Hongsmeier-Graves switched to med school after wanting to become a veterinarian.
"I learned that I really loved interacting with my patients and having them be able to talk to me," She said. "Cattle and horses aren’t so good at that, but human beings can be."
She recently completed a rotation in India.
They both share this advice for future med students.
"I think anything is always possible as long as you’re driven and committed to your goals," Hongsmeier-Graves said.
"Keep the excitement up," Chapagain said. "Work hard and if this is something you really want to do it's absolutely 100% worth it."
Chapagain matched with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Hongsmeier-Graves matched with the University of Utah.
112 UNMC students were matched Friday along with 165 med students from Creighton University.
Download our apps today for all of our latest coverage.
Get the latest news and weather delivered straight to your inbox.
