Pranay Manda (17Ox, 19C), is a current first-year medical student at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine. He graduated from Emory with a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry, and was a former Pre-Health Peer Mentor.
We had a chance to sit down with Pranay and ask him a few questions about his pre-health journey.
What impactful events have lead you to this pre-health track?
My dad is a doctor which initially made me want to pursue other careers, but after shadowing physicians, I realized I actually wanted to do medicine. Through health classes in high school, and shadowing/classes in college, I knew more and more everyday medicine is what I want to do.
What was the most difficult part of your pre-health career?
What was the most difficult part of your pre-health career?
Convincing myself I had what it took to get into medical school. My high school performance was not very stellar and I knew a lot of my family friends who did really well in high school and went to amazing colleges really struggled to get into medical school. This made me second guess whether I had what it took, seeing how much they struggled. My first semester of college was ok, it wasn’t great but something inside of me wanted to do medicine so bad that it completely changed me as a person, and my work ethic and enthusiasm about school in general completely changed and I ended up doing well for the remainder of college. It made me realize that you don’t necessarily have to be smart or gifted to do medicine. You just have to really want it and be willing to do whatever it takes.
What helped guide you to where you are now?
What helped guide you to where you are now?
My peers in the grade above me really had a big impact on me. Nobody in my family had gone through school and become a doctor in America. My dad went to school in India where the process is very different. I really didn’t have much of a guide coming into college, I just knew I was pre-med. As I went through my first semester, I discovered why I actually wanted to do medicine and I looked up to the people in the grade above me for guidance. I asked for help and they were so willing to provide it. There wasn’t much PHA presence at Oxford at the time, so the people in the grade above me were like my PHA. I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for having peer mentors like them, which is a huge reason why I become a Peer Mentor at the PHA.
What do you wish you knew 5 years ago? If you could start over, what would you change?
What do you wish you knew 5 years ago? If you could start over, what would you change?
I wish I knew how intense medical school was before applying. Sometimes I tell myself I wish I took a gap year because I think 1.) It would be nice to have a break from school before jumping into the insanity of medical school. 2.) There are so many things I really want to do in life that I feel I wont be able to do for at least another 10 years like do a cross country road trip and get a private pilot license. But in reality, I know I would have just laid around like a bum for a year so I’m glad I just went straight in. But for a lot people, that extra year could be very valuable.
Did you have a specific mentor that inspired you to get to where you are now?
Did you have a specific mentor that inspired you to get to where you are now?
I think accidentally bumping into my dad’s patients in public really had an impact on me. We look very similar so I could be walking anywhere in my home town and someone would stop me and ask if I was Dr. Manda’s son. Every single person who did this would say my dad literally saved their life and it was quite emotional and very inspiring to me. It really further solidified my want to do medicine.
What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
What challenges did you face and how did you overcome them?
None of the challenges I faced were anything substantial compared to what many other people may face when it comes to getting an education in America. One of the biggest challenges I did face was convincing myself that I was worthy enough to succeed in college and do well in college. I didn’t have a very good impression of my intellectual ability starting out, but eventually my mindset changed and thats when I was really able to accomplish things I never thought I could.
What is the best advice you could give someone pursuing the same track as you?
What is the best advice you could give someone pursuing the same track as you?
Don’t focus all your time and energy into just being pre-med or in medicine once you are in medical school. If there is something else you are passionate about, you should look into those things as well. Even if it’s not medical related, you would be surprised how it can really benefit you. For me, cooking has always been a passion or a form of stress relief. The summer I applied to medical school, I was bored of doing apps and TAing orgo lab being the only thing I did all day, so I decided to look for things related to cooking. I found out the Food Bank needed volunteers for people to go up to North Georgia and teach cooking classes for underserved populations. I hopped right on that thinking “OK it's quite a far drive, I'll just do it once for fun,” but after my first class, I loved it so much that I kept it going every week for the rest of summer. To my surprise, it came up quite a bit in medical school interviews because they would always ask me about something I passionate about and often times they would spend more than half the interview just asking me about my passion for cooking. So I am just saying, if you pursue something you are passionate about aside from medicine just for your own fun, it can even show medical schools who you are as a person!