Dr. Priscilla Tanamal’s interest in medicine and science was clear from an early age. As a kindergartner, she was fascinated with the human body and quickly leaned toward a medical career. When she shadowed physicians during a college break, her aspirations of becoming a doctor crystallized.

Dr. Priscilla Tanamal

What the Leadership Award means: “I was very excited to take on the role of Class co-President in the beginning of the first year of medical school, but it was a daunting task. Being in leadership, it’s not very obvious whether you’re doing a good job because it always feels like you could be doing more. What this award means to me is that I fulfilled the duties of my job well and was able to make an impact during my time at this school, and I am so honored.”

Mentor comment: “Whether it be serving on the LCME Student Committee for our medical school accreditation or our Six-Year Strategic Planning process, your thoughtful ideas, rationed approach, and partnership to help shape UT Southwestern Medical School into the best it can be is greatly appreciated. You have represented the student body so well on the UT System Student Advisory Committee, making an impact on how to approach issues related to the pandemic. You have also been an incredible role model to the other class leaders in how to address problems, develop trust, and come up with creative solutions. This has been an extraordinary time and you have met the challenge with extraordinary leadership.” – Dr. Angela Mihalic, Dean of Medical Students and Associate Dean for Student Affairs

Background and family: “I was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. My parents are both from Bandung, Indonesia, and came to the United States to get their master’s degrees and ended up in El Paso, where my dad found a job.”

What led to your career path: “There are no physicians in my family, but growing up surrounded by a nurturing home and having parents working so hard for my future, I was always striving to do my best. The human body was intriguing to me since a young age, and one summer in college, I realized I wanted to practice medicine because I loved my time shadowing physicians, especially surgeons in the operating room. I came to medical school excited to see what other opportunities I would have for my career path. During my surgery rotation, my love for the field was confirmed and led me to choose general surgery.”

College: “I earned a Bachelor of Science with High Honors in Advanced Nutritional Sciences at UT Austin. During college, I worked in the Dell Pediatric Research Institute Finnell Lab and the Freshman Research Institute Vertebrate Interactome Mapping Lab. I also was a member of Kappa Delta Sorority and UT Club Tennis.”

UTSW activities: “Besides serving as Class co-President, I also was active with the UT System Student Advisory Council, Gold Humanism Honor Society, Student Leadership Committee, and as a PRE+OP Orientation Committee Member, Colleges peer mentor, Human Structures teaching assistant, and COVID-19 student volunteer.”

Surprising fact: “My first language was Indonesian.”

Future plans: “I’m excited to go to residency in general surgery at Louisiana State University School of Medicine and can see myself pursuing a fellowship, but I’m not sure yet exactly what I want to specialize in. So far, I loved my experiences in vascular, burns, and plastic surgery.”

About the award: The Leadership Award annually goes to a student officer of the graduating class and includes a $1,000 award.