Class of 2026
As the newest crop of VP&S doctors moves from Match Day and graduation onto their next chapter, Columbia Medicine commemorates their four years on campus by spotlighting milestones, celebrating student life, and sharing the personal reflections that will stay with them.
What Class Achievement Makes You Most Proud?
What makes VP&S unique is the wellrounded people who cheer each other on at marathons or dance performances, who never miss a birthday, who are always down to giggle and laugh, who are willing to be a shoulder to cry on, and who are the most genuine people. I am so proud to be a graduate with the Class of 2026.
— Simran Chand, matched to Obstetrics & Gynecology, NewYork- Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center
I’m most proud of how my class continued to show up as advocates and activists during an especially challenging political moment. Throughout medical school, many of us stayed engaged in the issues that shape patients’ lives, even while navigating the intensity of medical training. It isn’t the easiest time to enter medicine, but being surrounded by such smart and passionate classmates has been motivating.
— Nadia Goldberg, matched to Pediatrics, Rush University Medical Center
How Do You Hope Your Class Will Impact the World?
As health care disparities continue to widen, social medicine is more important than ever. I hope we can all incorporate socially conscious care into our practices, from family medicine to orthopedic surgery.
— Juan Baltazar, matched to Orthopedic Surgery, NYP/CUIMC
I’m hopeful that our class can balance the demands of clinical medicine—caring for patients and families directly—with the ever-growing responsibility of physicians to be leaders and advocates for public health, policy change, systemic improvements, and trust in science.
— Ryan Leone, matched to Emergency Medicine, Brooke Army Medical Center
What's One Lesson You're Taking With You?
One thing that VP&S gave me that no curriculum could is the experience of learning alongside people whose backgrounds and perspectives were nothing like my own.
— Elisha “Eli” Pinker, matched to Internal Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
I began to appreciate what a gift it is to be in a room full of smarter people— whether amongst peers, working with a more senior clinical team, or sitting with a patient with a wealth of lived experience.
— Kensington Cochran, matched to Neurology, NYP/CUIMC
To be the best physician, best human, and best ____ you can be—whether that’s being a runner, singer, dancer, painter, writer, thinker, team player, or just a positive force. Being well rounded is what makes us better physicians and better people.
— Simran Chand
One of the biggest lessons I’ll carry forward is the importance of compassionate care—making sure each patient feels truly heard, seen, and valued.
— Caroline Chen, matched to transitional year, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center; Dermatology, NYP/CUIMC
What Would Go in a Class of 2026 Time Capsule?
Hilltop iced coffee.
— Elisha “Eli” Pinker
Six 5-gallon water jugs duct-taped together from Dr. Barasch’s nephrology lectures.
— Kensington Cochran
A Coffeehouse flyer.
— Simran Chand