Homegrown Healers

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• Joyce Pritchett - [email protected]

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• Stephanie Healey - [email protected]

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The University of California San Diego School of Medicine celebrated its 55th Doctor of Medicine graduating class on May 31, 2026. As the new physicians crossed the stage, family and friends beamed with pride, reflecting on the years of dedication that led to this milestone moment.

Among the graduates were several students whose journeys at UC San Diego began long before medical school. They arrived as undergraduates, discovered mentors and lifelong friends, developed a passion for medicine and research, and ultimately chose to continue their education at the School of Medicine. Now, as they begin residency training across the country, they carry forward a legacy of service, discovery and compassionate care.

The 125 graduates in the Class of 2026 are entering the workforce at a time of rapid change in medicine and society. During commencement ceremonies, speakers reflected on the challenges the students have overcome and the opportunities that lie ahead.

Student speaker Vasan Jagadeesh, MD, addressed his classmates and loved ones in the audience. "We arrived with expectations of who we would be and what our path would look like," he said. "But medical school has a way of dismantling those assumptions. It forces you to confront your limits and to fall short in ways you did not anticipate. In doing so, it teaches a difficult but necessary truth: everyone fails at who they think they are supposed to be. The real measure of a person is how well we learn to become who we are meant to be. Today is not only a celebration of what we as medical students have achieved. It is recognition of everything you all have given us so that we could accomplish our dreams."

Michelle Daniel, MD, vice dean for medical education, reminded graduates of the unique moment in history through which they earned their degrees.

"You entered medical school during a period of extraordinary societal change and polarization," said Daniel. "At a time when science, medicine, research and higher education have increasingly faced public scrutiny and challenge, you chose to dedicate yourselves to evidence, discovery, service and healing."

When Nash Toma, MD, arrived at UC San Diego as an undergraduate student in 2018, he was looking for a world-class education. What he discovered was a network of mentors, classmates and patients who would help shape both his personal and professional identity.

"I first came here as an undergraduate because I was drawn to the strength of the sciences, the culture of discovery, and the feeling that UC San Diego was a place where people from different backgrounds could build something meaningful," said Toma. "I stayed for medical school because UC San Diego had become much more than a university to me. It was where I found mentors, community and purpose."

As he prepares for residency training at the Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education in Phoenix, Ariz., Toma reflected on his time on campus.

"Some of my favorite memories at UC San Diego are not just single moments, but the people who shaped my journey," he said. "I think about the mentors who believed in me before I fully believed in myself, the classmates who became like family and the patients who reminded me why this work matters. From studying on campus as an undergraduate to walking through the hospital as a medical student, this has been the place where I slowly grew into the person and physician I hoped to become."

For Teini Elisara, MD, UC San Diego became more than a place to learn-it became a place to build community. As both an undergraduate and medical student, she helped create spaces where others could find belonging and support.

"Some of my favorite memories come from building community on campus," said Elisara. "As an undergraduate, one of the experiences I am most proud of was helping co-create the Pacific Islander Student Association, creating a space where Pacific Islander students could find belonging, support and connection. Throughout both undergrad and medical school, people like Windi Sasaki, associate director of Asian Pacific Islander Middle Eastern Desi American Programs and Services, and Happy Araneta, associate dean of diversity and community partnerships, played a huge role in making those spaces possible. Their support and commitment to students helped many of us feel seen and valued. Looking back, the communities I found and helped build at UC San Diego are what made this place feel like home."

That feeling of home and belonging continue for Elisara who will begin her residency training in family medicine at UC San Diego. "As I reflected on where I started as an undergraduate student, I realized how much of my personal and professional growth happened here at UC San Diego," she said. "Continuing my training at the same institution where I began my journey feels both meaningful and humbling."

While academics and clinical training shaped his path to medicine, it is the everyday moments that Aed Qas Yonan, MD, remembers most. Friendships formed in study sessions, conversations with mentors and years of personal growth transformed UC San Diego into a second home.

"San Diego has felt like a second home ever since I immigrated to the United States," said Qas Yonan. "UC San Diego was the place where everything started to feel familiar and possible. Being close to family mattered, but what really kept me here were the people I met early on. As an undergraduate, I found mentors who pushed me, classmates who became close friends and an environment where I felt myself growing. When it came time to choose a medical school, staying at UC San Diego felt like the right continuation of that journey. I knew I would be challenged, supported and surrounded by people who genuinely cared about my development."

As he prepares to begin residency training in neurology at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Ariz., Qas Yonan is grateful for the growth he experienced, the friends who became family and the community who has supported him for so many years.

"UC San Diego gave me more than an education. It gave me a foundation I'II carry with me long after graduation," he said.

For graduates like Toma, Elisara and Qas Yonan, commencement represents both a culmination and a beginning. Their paths now lead to different specialties, institutions and communities, but each carries forward the lessons, relationships and sense of purpose that first took root at UC San Diego.

As the School of Medicine celebrates another year of educating compassionate and innovative physicians, Barbara Jung, MD, associate vice chancellor and dean, reminded graduates that learning does not end with a diploma.

"As you enter the next stage of life, I challenge you to become learners. I know that may not sound like the most appealing thing now after four years of hitting the books," said Jung. "But I encourage you to approach everything you see and all things around you with curiosity. Educate yourself about your fellow humans, they are fascinating. Read, debate, listen and continue to refine your understanding of what life is all about. Congratulations and welcome to the UC San Diego community of lifelong learners."