Just about everybody in Dr. Angela Wang’s family is either a doctor or a nurse, so it is not surprising she would become one too. The values they instilled in her of ambition and kindness led her down that path, and it’s one that she is perfectly happy to continue along. Her desire is to provide the best and most compassionate care to her patients, especially to the underserved.

Angela Wang, M.D.

What this award means: I am so humbled and grateful to receive this award that honors a physician who was dedicated to medical education. Dr. Salomon’s resilience will remind me to work hard for my patients, to be their advocate, and to never stop learning.

Mentor comment: Angela exemplifies the ideal medical student: compassionate, intelligent, diligent, passionately inquisitive, and intellectually engaged. She has demonstrated initiative outside the clinical realm through her extensive leadership and volunteer experiences. In addition, her commitment to community service is exemplified by her role as Clinic Manager for the United Gospel Mission health care clinics, where she supervised the weekly recruitment of volunteers for free health clinics. – Kehinde Odedosu, M.D., Associate Professor of Internal Medicine

Background and family: I grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas. I was born into a family of incredibly driven, ambitious, and kind individuals. My parents were the first in the family to move to the U.S. I admired their bravery and curiosity as they tackled a new language and learned to fit into the culture and traditions of a new country. When I started medical school, my dad told me to treat each patient as if they were my own loved one and the rest would come with time. I have remembered those words with each patient I care for.

What led to your career path: My mother is a nurse, and my grandparents, father, and brother are all physicians. When I was 8 years old, my family moved back to China. I had the opportunity to become fluent in Mandarin and learned about my heritage, which has always been important to me and gives me a new perspective when caring for patients who are immigrants to the U.S.

College: I attended Stanford University, where I majored in human biology and minored in health economics. I served as a Mandarin interpreter in one of the free health care clinics there. Being able to help patients who had recently moved to the U.S. navigate the health care system and working alongside the knowledgeable medical students and physicians really solidified my commitment to a career in medicine. At Stanford I also played polo (yes, the kind with horses!), which was so much fun. During this time, I learned to administer vaccines, medications, and treat wounds for our four-legged teammates.

UTSW activities: I was co-President of the Seldin Society for Internal Medicine and helped host the mock Objective Structured Clinical Examination during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a great experience. More recently this year, I have been involved as a peer mentor for the Academic Colleges program. Getting to meet first-year medical students and taking them on their first hospital visits has been a privilege.

Surprising fact: I have played the violin since I was 3 years old. Joining the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra after I moved back from China helped me make lifelong friends. It has been eye-opening to see how the lessons of teamwork, determination, and learning my own style have translated directly to the world of medicine.

Future plans: I hope to continue my training at a large, academic medical center and eventually follow in the footsteps of my grandfather and pursue a fellowship in cardiology. I am interested in staying involved in medical education and caring for underserved and immigrant patient populations.

About the award: The award recognizes a medical student who demonstrates excellence in internal medicine. It is named after Dr. Salomon, who graduated from UTSW in 1967 and died shortly thereafter.