Bradley “Brad” Thomas is a husband and father who came a long way to get to JABSOM. After high school, he didn’t know what he wanted to pursue. During his first year of college he received non-passing grades and was academically suspended. He applied to medical school with a MCAT score in the 96th percentile and a cumulative GPA above a 3.5. In this episode, we find out how Brad was able to overcome an academic setback and talk about his far from ordinary experiences in his non-traditional path to JABSOM which include his time in the army, being a paramedic, and doing malaria research in Africa. We also discuss a relevant and important topic that applies to more than 50% of applicants - reapplying to medical school. Finally, we close this episode by talking about Brad's experience with starting medical school during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some paths are straight and narrow, others are odyssian-epic in scope: branching, exploratory, wide reaching and ultimately fulfilling. In this episode, Peggy Su describes her journey to medical school, stopping along the way to explore optometry, Seoul and Public Health before joining the ‘Imi Ho‘ōla Post-Baccalaureate program and the JABSOM Ohana. Peggy’s road is paved with resilience, exploration and courage and hopefully can be an inspiration for any student, on any path.  

Today’s episode features Anna Gragas, a first-year medical student at JABSOM. Anna walks us through how she became interested in medicine, her unique experiences in a rural setting, and the benefits of having mentors and support groups. She also discusses her experience and challenges with taking the MCAT and with the application process as a Maui resident. Finally, Anna discusses her passion for her community and wraps up with valuable advice for pre-medical students. 

Today’s episode features special guest Erica Shin, a first-year medical student here at JABSOM. Erica discusses her time at UH Mānoa, highlighting her decision to stay home for college and med school, and some of the activities she did in undergrad. We also talk through her journey with MCAT prep, the application process, and scribing as well as her experience in med school during the age of COVID-19. Come along for the ride and take a listen.

Welcome to JABSOM Journeys! We're so excited to start this podcast and highlight the unique journeys of our classmates. Listen to this short episode to meet the JABSOM Journeys' hosts and get to know a little more about them, their own journeys, and the reasons behind creating this podcast series.