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It is impossible to explain how happy I am. There is no sense in trying to start at the beginning of the story (what story? what beginning?), but we had might as well start in Switzerland since I spent last year doing research there. It was while I was in Geneva that I made the decision to come to the University of Michigan for medical school. Obviously – obviously! – this is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I’d known from the beginning of the MD-PhD interview process that I would not go back to re-visit schools, so I committed to Michigan way back in January. Don’t let me get carried away; I was certainly not one of those people who had been wearing the big “M” my entire life. In fact, I grew up in California and I only applied to Michigan on a whim. During the interview, though, I fell in love with the university and with Ann Arbor. It just felt right. By the time my younger sister visited me just before I left Switzerland, I was wearing my Michigan gear to the Université de Genève, despite the fact that Europeans do not generally favor printed tees (but too bad: I was already proud of UM).

In fact, it turned out that another entering MD-PhD student was doing her final semester of college abroad…and she was in Switzerland, too! So, it happened that I met my first classmate while we were both still on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Now I’m here in A-squared for eight years (maybe nine?) to do my MD-PhD, so prepare yourself to be hearing from me for a little while. I’m looking forward to sharing all my stories and reflections. In the coming weeks, I will fill you in on the start of classes, the excitement of moving into my house, the first football game of my life, and everything else. I’m still settling in, but it’s definitely official. I mean, we already had our White Coat Ceremony and everything!