New P&S Graduates Share Their Stories
From a former professional ballet dancer to a history buff who decided at age 5 to become a doctor, each member of the diverse Class of 2016 has traveled a unique path to medicine. Here are some of their stories:
When Ani Nalbandian was growing up, the youngest child of Armenian immigrants from Lebanon, nobody in her family thought she would become a doctor. Except her.
Read her story.
Brian Fallon worked as a financial consultant for academic medical centers, and the contact with people in medicine revived his childhood interest in medicine. "At P&S," he says, "I finally found the combination of math and science and helping people that I didn’t realize I had been looking for."
Read his story.
![](https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_1600/public/media/images/2020-02/gomes_angelina_thumb.jpeg?itok=3goOPHBD 189w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_200/public/media/images/2020-02/gomes_angelina_thumb.jpeg?itok=8kKbrgsQ 200w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_260/public/media/images/2020-02/gomes_angelina_thumb.jpeg?itok=FZ4jJNXb 260w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_320/public/media/images/2020-02/gomes_angelina_thumb.jpeg?itok=PFu5E84p 320w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_400/public/media/images/2020-02/gomes_angelina_thumb.jpeg?itok=0lBLaL68 400w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_520/public/media/images/2020-02/gomes_angelina_thumb.jpeg?itok=J0YpMvJX 520w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_640/public/media/images/2020-02/gomes_angelina_thumb.jpeg?itok=QpEmamT7 640w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_800/public/media/images/2020-02/gomes_angelina_thumb.jpeg?itok=EhM6cHZH 800w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_1040/public/media/images/2020-02/gomes_angelina_thumb.jpeg?itok=Y-Emj62T 1040w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_1280/public/media/images/2020-02/gomes_angelina_thumb.jpeg?itok=k9mULxda 1280w)
Queens native Angelina Gomes has worked and studied on four continents and is now looking forward to opening a practice for underserved communities in the United States.
Read more.
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Medicine was the only career Hasani Swindell ruled out during his youth, but the doctors who cared for a family member changed his mind.
Read more.
![](https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_1600/public/media/images/2020-02/victorianorth-thumb.jpeg?itok=h2X3oPln 189w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_200/public/media/images/2020-02/victorianorth-thumb.jpeg?itok=FpBKFzBO 200w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_260/public/media/images/2020-02/victorianorth-thumb.jpeg?itok=ltqzG7Rb 260w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_320/public/media/images/2020-02/victorianorth-thumb.jpeg?itok=O_C5FP8Z 320w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_400/public/media/images/2020-02/victorianorth-thumb.jpeg?itok=85b9yo4W 400w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_520/public/media/images/2020-02/victorianorth-thumb.jpeg?itok=pZDQGUiN 520w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_640/public/media/images/2020-02/victorianorth-thumb.jpeg?itok=H_daIU2f 640w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_800/public/media/images/2020-02/victorianorth-thumb.jpeg?itok=AbXFMBVS 800w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_1040/public/media/images/2020-02/victorianorth-thumb.jpeg?itok=kZP6fTTd 1040w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_1280/public/media/images/2020-02/victorianorth-thumb.jpeg?itok=oH7GzoPz 1280w)
After a career as a professional ballet dancer, Victoria North's experience as a ballet teacher helped her realize she has a passion for working with people to identify and solve problems.
Read more.
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In the seventh grade, Paul Blackcloud was assigned to write about schizophrenia for a school report. "I recognized how debilitating it could be," and it sparked his interest in medicine.
Read more.
![](https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_1600/public/media/images/2020-02/hankins-d_thumb.jpeg?itok=Z2MFCVdq 189w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_200/public/media/images/2020-02/hankins-d_thumb.jpeg?itok=etu3yCH0 200w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_260/public/media/images/2020-02/hankins-d_thumb.jpeg?itok=LQLD4dzc 260w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_320/public/media/images/2020-02/hankins-d_thumb.jpeg?itok=v2mrJYyw 320w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_400/public/media/images/2020-02/hankins-d_thumb.jpeg?itok=4uNQrgTG 400w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_520/public/media/images/2020-02/hankins-d_thumb.jpeg?itok=eJdThMVd 520w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_640/public/media/images/2020-02/hankins-d_thumb.jpeg?itok=q4v3YmxM 640w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_800/public/media/images/2020-02/hankins-d_thumb.jpeg?itok=CgbRtPlm 800w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_1040/public/media/images/2020-02/hankins-d_thumb.jpeg?itok=uWe21vqL 1040w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_1280/public/media/images/2020-02/hankins-d_thumb.jpeg?itok=MDmjb3dY 1280w)
Taking care of his mother during her battle with lung cancer gave David Hankins first-hand experience with the stress endured by caregivers.
Read more.
![](https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_1600/public/media/images/2020-02/randall-lee-thumb.jpeg?itok=G_GQradf 189w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_200/public/media/images/2020-02/randall-lee-thumb.jpeg?itok=uBL6IeSc 200w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_260/public/media/images/2020-02/randall-lee-thumb.jpeg?itok=6-W0lK4T 260w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_320/public/media/images/2020-02/randall-lee-thumb.jpeg?itok=nrUr8HVs 320w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_400/public/media/images/2020-02/randall-lee-thumb.jpeg?itok=TTBv9i0p 400w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_520/public/media/images/2020-02/randall-lee-thumb.jpeg?itok=4kOSxytG 520w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_640/public/media/images/2020-02/randall-lee-thumb.jpeg?itok=jwKTEIUL 640w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_800/public/media/images/2020-02/randall-lee-thumb.jpeg?itok=gdYvGlyl 800w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_1040/public/media/images/2020-02/randall-lee-thumb.jpeg?itok=84NocMpz 1040w, https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/sites/default/files/styles/cola_media_1280/public/media/images/2020-02/randall-lee-thumb.jpeg?itok=RofnVt2y 1280w)
As a nontraditional medical student, Randall Lee was worried he was too old for medical school and that he wouldn't fit in.
Read more.