Tirth P., M4 MSTP

I graduated from UCLA and came to WashU in 2011 (before Edison invented the light bulb), drawn primarily by the academic strength as well as the opportunity to live in a different part of the country. It didn’t hurt that, as an MD matriculant, I received a generous financial aid package. During my first year I became interested in doing research, and I subsequently transferred to the MSTP as an internal applicant. I figured I had nothing better to do with my time, and my twenties was the right decade to spend in the lab. What initially began as a four-year commitment to this institution became a nine-year extended stay. The biggest strength of this place is the kind of people it attracts, nurtures, and supports. In my time in the lab and in the hospital as a third- and fourth-year student, I have received spectacular mentorship, unparalleled support, and virtually limitless access to resources to pursue my goals. Our MSTP community is huge, which means you are never alone when you hit that inevitable impasse (the scientist’s block, if you will) in lab. I have been on the neurology residency interview trail, crisscrossing the country for the past two months, and it has given me an even greater appreciation for the vibrant and brilliant community of physicians, scientists, and others that we have here. I came to WashU as a wide-eyed 21-year-old; I will be a grey-haired 30-year-old by the time I graduate in May 2020. I formed many meaningful friendships here, lived through their breakups, marriages, and the births of their children, and I am excited to see what my friends accomplish in the future. Virtually my entire twenties was spent here at, and I can’t imagine having spent it anywhere else. I learned how to be a meticulous scientist, an empathetic physician, and a conscientious human being at WashU, and I am incredibly proud to be associated with this institution.