Andrew Cash

1. Where are you from? 
I was born and raised in Huntsville, AKA Rocket City USA!

2. What made you want to become a doctor?
When I was 4 years-old, I dressed up as a doctor for Halloween, so there wasn’t any turning back from that point on! Equally important: it’s the perfect combination of science, social interaction, and humanitarianism for me. My curiosity for science and love of connecting with people will both be channeled in a way that fulfills me and helps others.

3. What is your favorite Birmingham spot?
The Vulcan! The view is stunning and really makes Birmingham feel like home when you can see the perfectly small-sized city that it is. Especially if you grab a Post Office Pie pizza and enjoy it with the view!

4. What is something about being a medical student that more people don’t realize?
The culture of medical school is not competitive but is amazingly supportive. The faculty and staff make themselves available to help you with anything you are struggling with or going through. My peers are also all extremely smart and driven people who share my passions for science, service, diversity, and helping others. And that includes helping each other through the stress of medical school and everyday life.

5. What made you choose UAB?
I love Birmingham and it truly is home to me. Aside from that, UAB is one of the best medical schools in the Southeast—where I plan to live and practice—with so many research opportunities that I have access to labs advancing every field of medicine. UAB’s commitment to diversity was the other major factor as I wanted to receive training in how to be a more understanding and better person as well as a good physician.

6. What are some of the difference you’ve noticed in being a professional school student (expectations, pressures, visibility, etc.) than those of an undergrad or graduate school student?
Time management is critical to success. Being intentional about how you allot your time and then having the discipline to effectively use that time are the best ways to be a successful and happy medical school student. The responsibility and expectations on you are also higher because you are viewed as a professional already, and I found this so refreshing and motivating.

Sheila Mallenhalli

1. Where are you from? 
Lafayette, LA

2. What made you want to become a doctor?
I loved the human connection that practicing medicine provided. It allows us to see the change that we are making firsthand and be able to connect with people on an incredibly personal level. Medicine also has an incredible number of careers with it, so I loved that I still have the ability to specialize further in a field that truly piques my interest and allows me to broaden my horizons.

3. What is your favorite Birmingham spot?
Big Spoon Creamery

4. What is something about being a medical student that more people don’t realize?
You still have time to have a life! It may take more time management than usual, but we are still real people outside of school!

5. What made you choose UAB?
UAB had an incredibly welcoming feel from day one. I got the sense that everyone here was here to help us succeed and would support us in anything we would need. The community of a school was very important to me because I really do believe that the people around us make the biggest impact in our lives.

6. What are some of the difference you’ve noticed in being a professional school student (expectations, pressures, visibility, etc.) than those of an undergrad or graduate school student?
As a graduate student, I feel that professionalism is much more heavily emphasized and expected than it was at the undergraduate level. We are one step closer to pursing our dream careers, but as medical students, this means that we are still expected to hold ourselves to the same professional and ethical level that a physician would. We are now also representatives of the field and there are definitely professional expectations associated with that.

Clark Ingram

1. Where are you from?
Huntsville

2. What made you want to become a doctor?
I have been interested in medicine ever since my parents bought me a series of books on the human body when I was a child. In high school, I was able to shadow an orthopedic surgeon and gastroenterologist over Fall Break, which enabled me to see the profound trust patients place in physicians and the impact I could make on others’ lives as a physician. However, I did not fully commit to becoming a physician until after I graduated college, when I lost both my father and grandfather to heart disease. I now strive to learn about the human body not only to heal patients who are sick but also to empower patients to make lifestyle modifications to live longer, healthier lives.

3. What is your favorite Birmingham spot?
My favorite spot in Birmingham is the Northside of downtown Birmingham. When I need to clear my mind, I will walk or run around Downtown’s Northside while listening to music and admiring the tall buildings. I also enjoy eating at El Barrio in Northside, Babalu’s in Lakeview, and Urban Cookhouse in Homewood.

4. What is something about being a medical student that more people don’t realize?
Most people don’t realize how much fun medical school is! Although there is always more material to learn, a never-ending barrage of exams, and countless extra-curricular deadlines, I have found medical school to be the most enriching, stimulating environment that I have ever experienced. My classmates are brilliant, kind, engaging people, and I hope that I will be colleagues with several of them throughout residency and practice.

Medical school also offers the opportunity to try out new experiences. I have gone to Birmingham Barons games, played intramural soccer, hung out at upscale downtown bars, and tried several restaurants with my classmates. With a class of almost 200 people, you are bound to find others with similar interests who are willing to take a break and go try something new!

5. What made you choose UAB?
I chose UAB for a multitude of reasons. One of the primary reasons is that UAB is only two hours from my home in Huntsville, and I am close to my mom should she need anything. In addition, several of my classmates from Randolph have attended UABSOM and had enriching experiences, and I valued their insights when deciding on a medical school. I liked UAB’s multifaceted curriculum, through which I would be exposed to relevant material through lecture, small group discussion, large group reviews, and peer tutoring. Moreover, I knew that UAB was a powerhouse research institution and that I would have the opportunity to be exposed to and participate in groundbreaking research during my four years of medical school.

One of the prevailing reasons in my decision to attend UAB was the wonderful relationship I built with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. I met Ms. Jenna Blythe-Tjia at Preview Weekend the summer before I applied and corresponded with her throughout the application process. Moreover, at Second Look Weekend, I was able to have lunch with Dr. Carlton Young and hear about his experiences as a Renal Transplant Surgeon. Meeting Dean Vickers and Dr. Young, both immensely successful black academic surgeons, reassured me that UAB was a place that I could thrive and follow my dream. I have not regretted my choice for a second since!

6. What are some of the difference you’ve noticed in being a professional school student (expectations, pressures, visibility, etc.) than those of an undergrad or graduate school student?
Being a professional student requires more commitment and focus than being an undergraduate student. As a medical student, you have a responsibility to your future patients, staff, and colleagues to form both a broad and deep understanding of basic medical science. Choosing to blow off learning about adverse drug interactions can have far more dangerous consequences than slacking off in a calculus class or elective.

I have also found incredibly rewarding experiences in medical school that would have been harder to have as an undergraduate student. I helped a mother deliver her first baby during Special Delivery Weekend and felt the shared elation throughout the room as the boy cried for the first time. I have also been a part of the team as the attending physician delivered bad news and shared grief with a family. While the responsibilities of a medical student are numerous, I find the payoffs to be far greater.

Madeline Farmer

1. Where are you from?
Roanoke

2. What made you want to become a doctor?
From the time I was a little girl, I always dreamed I would be a doctor. When I was younger I often played clinic with teddy bears and band-aided everything that moved. As I aged this dream stuck with me as I learned about my love of the biomedical sciences, solving problems and answering questions, and helping others. Medicine is the only field where you can blend something as concrete as science with something as abstract as compassion; and, I have always been enamored and drawn to this field by that balance. Becoming a doctor just always made sense.

3. What is your favorite Birmingham spot?
There is this one spot on Vestavia Hills Drive where you can truly appreciate the way Birmingham’s city sits in the mountains. It is breathtaking, and I offer to share my map pin of it to anyone who asks.

4. What is something about being a medical student that more people don’t realize?
How different from normal grad school/college this experience is. Everyone knows medical school is “hard” but they don’t realize how much of your time school monopolizes and how much of your brain you use in a day. Luckily, the people around you that know and love you pick up on this pretty soon and really work to make sure they can support and love you the best way they can.

5. What made you choose UAB?
My grandfather battled with a rare leukemia at UAB Hospital. I remember one day while I was visiting with him he gave me a sweatshirt he had a nurse buy from the gift store that said “UAB Medicine” on it and said “I saw all the young doctors wearing it, and I wanted you to know that was going to be you one day.” That moment stuck with me throughout the entirety of interview season. While UAB was so welcoming, impressive statistically, and a great fit for me overall, this experience did play a big role in my decision.

6. What are some of the difference you’ve noticed in being a professional school student (expectations, pressures, visibility, etc.) than those of an undergrad or graduate school student?
Again, I think it is what people expect that this looks like for us. They expect it to be at most an 8-4 school experience where you basically just study and have the same free time that was afforded to you in undergrad and that simply is not the case for most. On the more positive end of this spectrum, though, I do think in professional school we get a lot more supplemental instruction on how to apply our knowledge and be a professional that is really different from the curriculum of most undergrads and grad schools.

Casey Pierce

1. Where are you from?
I am from Helena, and have lived in 6 different states (TN, NC, MS, GA, TX, AL).

2. What made you want to become a doctor?
I have had a lot of problems with my esophagus growing up and dealt with many different doctors during that time. I think those physicians inspired me to help others like they did with me so that I can pass on that help and inspiration to the next generation.

3. What is your favorite Birmingham spot?
Ovenbird Restaurant

4. What is something about being a medical student that more people don’t realize?
That after the first day of Medical School, you can diagnosis your great uncle’s chronic back pain when he inevitably comes up to you at a family gathering.

5. What made you choose UAB?
I love Birmingham as it has a small big city feel with friendly and caring people. I think I chose UAB because of wanting to give back to this affectionate community that helped shape me into who I am today.

6. What are some of the difference you’ve noticed in being a professional school student (expectations, pressures, visibility, etc.) than those of an undergrad or graduate school student?
A difference between undergrad and medical school is that everyone in medical school has the same goal as you: pass and become an excellent physician. Everyone is on the same team as we all want to get there together.

Teressa Duong

1. Where are you from?
Originally, I am from Ha Noi, Vietnam, but I’ve been in Birmingham since I was 8 years old.

2. What made you want to become a doctor?
I have known I wanted to be a physician since 5 years old when I saw my classmate scrape their knee on the playground. I was totally intrigued by the blood flowing out of their knee and the clot that formed after. Throughout my years of education, I have always been more drawn to the sciences. Biology has always been more interesting to me than social studies or language arts. Shadowing further solidified my interest in becoming a doctor.

3. What is your favorite Birmingham spot?
Railroad Park + Red Cat Café.

4. What is something about being a medical student that more people don’t realize?
We can have fun too!!!

5. What made you choose UAB?
I am from Birmingham so I have always wanted to go to UABSOM because it is the best medical school in Alabama and one of the best medical schools in the U.S.

6. What are some of the difference you’ve noticed in being a professional school student (expectations, pressures, visibility, etc.) than those of an undergrad or graduate school student?
I believe that as a professional school student, you are spending more time with your fellow classmates which give you the opportunity to become closer to them. Since our class is only about 190 people, I have gotten to know everyone in my med school class compared to the 25,000 people who I went to undergrad with!

Seth White

1. Where are you from?
Tuscaloosa

2. What made you want to become a doctor?
My dad was diagnosed with brain cancer when I was 12, and seeing him go through treatment over the years has inspired me to wish to help others and have the same impact his doctors have had on our family.

3. What is your favorite Birmingham spot?
Oak Mountain State Park Golf Course (or any other course I have time to play)

4. What is something about being a medical student that more people don’t realize?
The first two years aren’t just spent studying. There is time to hang out with friends and do other things besides school. I usually go back to Tuscaloosa on the weekends to spend time with family and my girlfriend.

5. What made you choose UAB?
UAB has always been my first choice being from Alabama and experiencing first-hand how the doctors care for patients as they did with my dad. It’s also the closest to home for me which has been great.

6. What are some of the difference you’ve noticed in being a professional school student (expectations, pressures, visibility, etc.) than those of an undergrad or graduate school student?
Being a medical student is essentially a full-time job commitment. You have to fully commit to your studies, and once I started to treat my week like a scheduled work week it became more manageable.