School of Medicine 2025 Class President reflects on medical school journey
To reflect on his time in medical school, Adel Hassan, fourth-year medical student and 2025 Class President, writes a letter to his sister who is currently applying to medical school.
Dear Sister,
It makes me so proud to see you applying to medical school. I love medicine, and I’m happy that I was able to share that love with you. You are about to start what are quite possibly the four most important years of your life, and before you begin, I would like to pass on some of the wisdom that I have acquired through my own experience, so that perhaps you will have a better understanding of what to expect.
You’ll begin with the classroom curriculum. You’ll study harder than you’ve ever studied before, but you’re going to enjoy it more than anything you’ve ever learned about before. Because this time, every fact that you learn has a non-negligible probability of one day saving a life. At first, that realization might overwhelm you as you struggle to pick up every drop of knowledge from the torrential downpour. But you’ll quickly learn to triage which facts warrant more of your time. Once you master that skill, you’ll find time to do the other things you love, the ones that don’t have anything to do with the Krebs cycle. You might feel like you’re wasting your time, but one day, you’ll realize that just as every fact that you learn might help you save a life, every moment that you spend throwing a ball or chatting with friends or enjoying a story — every moment that you spend, essentially, being a human — might one day help you connect with your fellow human beings who are called patients. So go and stuff as much knowledge as possible into your brain, but never regret the time you spent growing yourself as a person.
At some point, you’ll step into the anatomy lab for the first time. Before you begin your dissection, pause and take a few seconds to appreciate the unique opportunity you are about to have. The cadaver on the table was once a person who threw balls as you do, chatted with friends as you do, and enjoyed stories as you do. So, express your gratitude to your donor and God for allowing you to learn from this experience so that you can help all your future patients.
One of the best parts of the first year will be the people you’ll meet. It’ll start with your classmates, and you’ll be amazed to meet so many smart, motivated and kindhearted people in one place. You’ll meet lots of different people, but you’ll all have one thing in common: you’ve devoted your lives to improving the health of your patients. That united goal will give you a common bond (excellent coffee shop, by the way) that will make your medical school friendships special. Beyond your classmates, you’ll meet some memorable professors and patients, and, if you listen closely, each one will teach you how to become a better doctor and a better person.
Once you’re comfortable with the pace of your classes, you’ll branch out into extracurricular activities. These are some of the most exciting parts of medical school, because they represent a chance to change the world. You could research a new invention or volunteer to make a real difference in the community. One day, you’ll overthink things, and you’ll start to doubt if your impact is big enough. But don’t let the doubt stop you, because humanity has made it this far, one marginal improvement at a time, and I can guarantee that your efforts will eventually pay off.
Before you know it, you’ll be starting your clerkships. This will be everything you’ve ever dreamed of, because you’ll finally get to contribute to the care of real patients. It will also be the toughest year of medical school, because taking care of real patients isn’t easy, and going home at the end of a long day only to start studying for your exams, well, that doesn’t make it any easier. But even though you’re going to be exhausted, you’re going to feel like you’ve finally arrived where you belong, and that will make it worth it.
Your fourth year will be over in the blink of an eye, and when you open your eyes, you’ll be standing where I’m standing now, looking out over a future in medicine. You’ll see a future filled with helping and healing, and you’ll know you made the right choice.
But that’s all in the future. For now, take everything one step at a time. Cherish each moment of joy, because it will be over before you know it. And have patience as you work through each obstacle, because they, too, will be over before you know it. I wish you the best in your journey.
Your brother,
Adel Hassan
By Adel Hassan, a fourth-year medical student and 2025 Class President
