While I undoubtedly have become very close to my MSTP classmates, I developed very close and deep ties with my MD counterparts that have lasted even beyond their graduation. I spent many hours and late nights studying with them, collaborating with them to lead student groups and service projects, exploring the St. Louis area and having potlucks with them, and celebrating together after exam weeks. In that time, I found my medical school counterparts to be very intelligent, inquisitive, passionate, driven, and, most importantly to me, caring. In the long and challenging path to becoming a physician-scientist, it was paramount that I be able to develop bonds with classmates who were not only high achieving but also supportive.
While my MD classmates were focused on their clinical education, many of them were also interested in research as well. As I moved on to graduate school, they never failed to ask me about my own thesis project whenever we crossed paths. As they became senior medical students, they also gave me advice for my transition back to clinic and about the match process, which will be important as I approach those milestones. My MD counterparts have been an integral piece of my experience in the MSTP, and I am very grateful that I had the opportunity to connect with such inspiring individuals.