Dear White Coat Donor,

My name is Estevan Sandoval, I will be the first person in my family to become a doctor.  My grandfather immigrated to the US as part of the Bracero Program, and watching him struggle with his health while I was young inspired me to pursue medicine.

To me - the white coat symbolizes hope.  With patients are at their low point I hope they can see me as a form of hope and someone who is going to take good care of them.  Seeing the incredible support from alumni MedCats has made me so hopeful and excited for the future!

Sincerely,
Estevan
MedCat Class of 2026

We would like to introduce you to Nandini Sodhi, Class of 2026                

Nandini has been on a path toward medicine for most of her life. “As a little kid, I thought it was the coolest profession ever that you could ‘fix’ people,” she says. By the time she was an undergraduate, Nandini was dipping her toe into the field as a student intern at Banner University Medical Center.

“My job was to play with children. I spent a lot of my holidays there on purpose — Mother’s Day, Christmas Eve — I just loved it,” she says. “It grounded me and I enjoyed the hospital setting. It was a great steppingstone into medicine.” 

Nandini also spent her undergrad years gaining policy experience as a research fellow with the Arizona Telemedicine Program. “I got to dig deep into telemedicine policy and merge the two interests,” she says. “When I was deciding career tracks, it was between legislation in government or medicine. I chose medicine, but I still have a passion to work on policy.” 

Her work in telemedicine overlapped with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the pandemic, the potential of telemedicine was underappreciated, and Nandini says they had to fight for attention. “Then the pandemic hit. Telemedicine took off and everyone understood its power,” she says. “All of a sudden, things that we’d been trying to get done for 20 years, the Legislature was like, ‘Yep, approved.’ That was the best part.” 

By the time she was wrapping up the requirements for her bachelor’s degree in physiology, she was hoping to stay in Tucson. “My heart was at the University of Arizona,” she says. “I love the faculty, and their mission statement really aligned with mine — a school that values rural health, serving underserved communities, and many clinical opportunities for students through all four years.” 

We are excited to welcome Nandini and her classmates to campus this week for orientation. Thank you for your gift in support of them.

Dear White Coat Donor,

My name is Hannah Korah, and I am so grateful for your generous gift and investment in my future. I grew up for the first half of my childhood in Kerala, India with my grandmother and my sister. I lost my grandmother to a heart attack in India because there were not enough healthcare resources available. She was my childhood friend, mentor, and inspiration. Upon returning to the United States to live with my parents and witnessing the power of medicine to transform and save lives, I knew I wanted to be a part of this incredible field. With an interest in being at the forefront of furthering medicine and helping my fellow human beings, I am pursuing an MD/PhD degree.

To me, the white coat symbolizes honor and responsibility. I am honored to be a part of a community dedicated to helping others. I have the responsibility to serve my community and give back every bit as much as the community has poured into me to get me to where I am today. You are a large part of this - not just through your financial support, but I am truly touched knowing that you are another individual who believes in my future and the future of medicine.

Thank you so much for your support!