The time that mentors invested in Dr. Sarah Cao inspired her to pay it forward. For someone who thrives on learning, the desire to teach is ingrained. Mentoring is a skill that she hopes to continue nurturing in her career, as she would like to eventually work as a surgeon in an academic setting.

Sarah Cao, M.D.

What this award means: Throughout my education, I have been fortunate to have had teachers and mentors who were really invested and passionate. That made me want to pass on the same investment to others. I knew that I wanted to stay involved in teaching in some form during medical school, and Student Academic Support Services (SASS) provided me with a perfect avenue for this. Knowing that I was able to make some impact as a tutor has been very rewarding.

Mentor comment: Sarah was chosen for the positive feedback we received and her willingness to always go the extra mile. Her calm and confident manner allows students to fully engage in her tutoring sessions. Her goal is to ensure her students understand the course material, apply their knowledge, and succeed. – Rosemary Meredith, Ed.D., Associate Director of Student Academic Support Services

Background and family: I am originally from upstate New York around Albany, then made the move to Texas eight years ago.

What led to your career path: Growing up, I knew that I wanted to be a surgeon. I decided to pursue bioengineering during my undergraduate training and was very fortunate to be able to work on some surgical instrumentation projects and get in the operating room early. Growing in that sort of academic environment of both my college and the Texas Medical Center in Houston, I was really interested in the sense of discovery and education that was always around. This affirmed for me that I want to practice in an academic setting and be involved in medical education in the future.

College: I graduated magna cum laude from Rice University in Houston, Texas, with a Bachelor of Science in bioengineering and a certificate in German. I was very involved in the Bioengineering Department, tutoring, and teaching small sessions for younger classes in introductory coding and engineering fundamentals.

UTSW activities: One of the most meaningful activities has been tutoring with SASS. Additionally, I have been involved in research that has utilized my engineering background, both working on neuroimaging analysis as well as some surgical laparoscopic video projects.

Surprising fact: I think people are always surprised about how much I read. It has given me a lot of random, very topically specific knowledge that seems to surprise people. Last year, I set a goal for myself to read a book every week, and I was able to beat that goal by about five books.

Ultimate career goal: Going into residency, the priority for me is to learn as much as I can, both in surgical and soft skills. I think that the opportunity to be in a new place exposes you to a lot of different ways people do things and allows you to decide how to incorporate that into your own practice.

Future plans: I am headed for a residency in general surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai/Hospital in New York. As far as a subspecialty, I am still in an exploration phase but am interested in colorectal surgery. I plan to practice in an academic setting as I am interested in working with trainees as a medical educator.

About the award: The award recognizes graduating medical students who have made outstanding contributions to serve fellow medical students in need of academic assistance.