Dr. Sam Jeong

By Lin Lofley

Dr. Sam Jeong has spent four years at UT Southwestern Medical School learning how to serve not just those in need, but his peers as well.

As Co-Presidents of the Class of 2016 along with Dr. Daniel Walk, Dr. Jeong has earned the 2016 Medical School Student Leadership Award. The recognition is made to the student officers of the graduating class, and it includes a $1,000 award. Dr. Jeong is also co-winner, along with Dr. David Harker, of the Award for Excellence in Dermatology.

The dermatology award is given each year to the graduating medical student who has advanced dermatological patient care, research, or teaching in a special way, or who shows promise for leadership in these areas. Each of the recipients will get a certificate and $500.

“I usually shied away from leadership roles prior to coming to UT Southwestern,” Dr. Jeong said. “Although there were times when I took on leadership roles due to unavoidable circumstances, running for Class President was the first time I actively sought out and campaigned for a position. Not only did I want to come out of my shell a little more in medical school and grow as an individual, but I wanted to invest myself into helping future generations of physicians who would come to UT Southwestern after me.”

Wes Norred, Vice President for Student and Alumni Affairs, said, “Sam and Dan have had an impact in such disparate areas as the development of the new medical school curriculum for their successors, as well as in representing all UT Southwestern students with the UT System Chancellors Student Advisory Committee. It has been a delight to work with them.”

Dr. Jeong, who will begin residency in dermatology at UT Southwestern in June, is a graduate of Carrollton’s Hebron High School, He earned degrees in business honors, finance, and Plan II Honors at UT Austin before entering UT Southwestern Medical School.

The journey from college student majoring in business to medical student was a much different path than he had anticipated.

“I found myself a bit conflicted as I concluded my undergraduate studies,” he recalled. “I had arrived at UT Austin interested in business, but as I grew to learn more, I realized that improving the bottom line didn’t always translate to tangible changes in the quality of people’s lives.

“Intellectual stimulation alone was insufficient without the human component. As I pursued that fulfillment I realized my desire to become a physician.”

The son of a college Computer Science professor and a mother who is pursuing her undergraduate degree after more 30 years of raising and supporting a family, Dr. Jeong gravitated to dermatology as a specialty through what he called an “organic” process.

“When I left business to go into medicine, I desired a significant degree of patient interaction and hands-on learning,” he said. “I found myself volunteering at the Agape clinic, a student-run dermatology clinic for the underserved. My time at the clinic helped remind me why I had entered medicine – to positively impact people’s lives. Some of my most memorable experiences were spent in the clinic, reassuring, counseling, and listening to patients.”

He has shared those experiences with his classmates and mentors, and they have shared with him. Those are the memories a career is built upon.

“It’s unequivocal: What I will miss most about medical school is the people,” Dr. Jeong said. “Over the past four years I have had the opportunity to work with and under some of the most dedicated, passionate, empathetic, and intelligent students, residents, fellows, and attending physicians in the world. I feel fortunate to be doing my residency program here at UT Southwestern.”