EPISODE 17: SARAH AMPALLOOR

May 2, 2024

Interview by pRIYANKA gERA

Edited by Priyanka Gera

Photo by Ivan Dominguez

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in a suburb of Chicago called Arlington Heights.

If someone visits Arlington Heights, what’s something they should do there?

We live next to Mitsuwa––a Japanese marketplace––and people travel to visit it since there’s only a few in the country. We are close to the city though, so I would say go to Chicago, but Arlington Heights was a nice place to grow up. 

Are you going to be the first doctor in the family?

No. Both my parents are doctors. My mom actually graduated from NYMC. My dad is a pediatrician and my mom is an emergency medicine doctor. They always encouraged me to do what I wanted to do, and never pressured me to be a doctor. But seeing them helping people and being a source of comfort for their patients and our family made it hard to not want to do that with my life as well. Now, going through medical school and having them guide me through the process is really helpful. It helps me grow closer to them too.

It is important to have a support system; especially one that understands exactly what you are going through.

Exactly. And both my parents were in NY for that time so they love coming here to see me because they are going back to somewhere that they loved and had so many life changes. It is special for me to be going through this at the same age and place that they experienced because I get to see it through their eyes as well.

Who else is in your family?

I have an older brother and a little brother, who are both so awesome.

How is it being the middle child?

I think it’s different for me because I am the only girl. Also, my little brother is 7 years younger than me, so I was the youngest child for a while. Now, when I go back home, the age difference doesn’t feel that big. When we were little I didn’t really get much of the middle child experiences that others talk about.

What was the last vacation you took?

I was just on vacation. I went to San Francisco to see my brother and some friends. I also went home for a little bit. SF was so beautiful. I love the weather and how much nature there is. The food is also amazing. We went to a farmer’s market and they had delicious oranges. I love NY, but the food and atmosphere in San Francisco is so unique.

Would you consider moving to San Francisco at some point?

Maybe; I went to college there and I loved my experience. It’s definitely on my list of places to potentially move to since my brother and friends are there. But the rest of my family is in Chicago and NY so I will have to see where I end up.

On the topic of vacation, what are three things you always travel with? Besides your phone.

My Supergoop sunscreen and Airpods. I like buying little trinkets on vacation too, so it is less about what I bring with me and more about what I discover there.

What trinkets did you find in San Francisco?

I love pottery because it is something I can’t do myself, so I got a little bowl in Berkeley that is really pretty. Everyone makes fun of me because I have a lot of bowls. I just think they are so beautiful though. When I have a house one day, I need a pottery gallery wall.

What about some of your other hobbies? Things you excel at…

I love cooking. This is where the bowl obsession started. For food styling, you need different bowls and plates to create a certain aesthetic and story for the photo. So I got into the habit of looking for cool pieces that I could plate with. I love cooking and baking though, and have been making birthday cakes for my friends. I like experimenting with flavors that you can’t buy in stores.

Any new flavors you are trying to experiment with lately? 

Something I made recently was a yuzu, shiso cake with strawberry Swiss Meringue buttercream, garnished with black sesame seeds and flowers. It was a light cake with more savory flavors, since I don’t like super sweet cakes. 

When did all this start?

My family cooks a lot. It was always so fun cooking together in a slightly chaotic kitchen, making something delicious. I found a niche in making dessert and plating everything. Throughout college, I had to learn to cook for myself more and I had the space to cook and bake. There were also always people around to help finish what I made, because if I was at home I would eat everything. At least this way I could share my creations with friends. In medical school, there are so many people and birthdays; in the fall, I was baking a cake every 2 weeks. 

I have had your olive oil cake and it is delicious. 

It is so light and there is so much you can do with the flavors, like making it floral or citrusy. Olive oil cakes are my favorite. I am so happy you enjoyed it!

This next one is serious: how do you define success?

I think success is being happy with where you are and with what you have, or doing your best to get there. You can always say someone else is more successful because they have more than you. Instead, you should strive for the best that you can do. In your career, social life or family life, you have to make the most of what you have.

That’s so deep. [Both laugh] I truly love how you connected it with happiness; because success is subjective. We measure our own success so if we are content, then that’s all we need. 

We just took STEP for example. That was a hard process. We may not have felt happy going to the library everyday to study, but we were successful doing the work we had to do. We made progress everyday and that is important. We did our best to move forward and feel joy in knowing that we were working towards our future goals of being doctors.

Here’s a light hearted one: do you prefer window or aisle seats on a plane?

I love window seats. I love looking outside and seeing everything. If it is a long flight, you can lean on the wall and sleep.

What is the most spontaneous thing you've ever done?

This may not be the most spontaneous thing I’ve ever done, but in college, we were pretty close to San Francisco. The beaches there are cold. But one time, my roommate and I were driving around SF and all of a sudden we were like “we need to go to the beach right now.” We went to Target to get emergency swimsuits. We weren’t prepared for the beach at all; we just wanted to go to the city and hangout, but the weather was so amazing. We went to the beach and it was so nice. After that, we left our emergency swimsuits in the car so we would always be ready. It was so fun and I was thinking about that when I was on vacation recently.

So you said you went to Berkeley, what did you major in?

Molecular Environmental Biology. I used to volunteer at the zoo in high school and got interested in environmental science; I went to Berkeley because their program was so good. I was always pre-med but wanted to pursue other interests at the same time. I was so happy they had a major that combined everything because I think environmental health is so important.

Do you think that will influence what you will do or influence how you will practice in the future? 

I think it is important to know how the world impacts you, what you should eat, and which places are healthy to live in. You can’t look at things from just one lens. As doctors, we need to understand and educate patients on environmental health and how everything is related. Maybe taking a pill will help treat one issue, but there are other factors at play that influence your overall health. I don’t know if I would specialize in environmental health, but it will definitely inform what I do in the future. If you can help patients improve environmental and nutritional factors, you can help them reduce toxin exposure and harmful processes in their body. The more you know, the more you can do to prevent things from happening.

The last song you listened to…

I have been listening to my Spotify daylist a lot. 

A daylist?

Yeah, it curates a playlist based on what you listen to and it changes throughout the day. I like that a lot so I’ve just been listening to that. 

I learned something new. I will have to check out what my list has 😊 

What is one thing you will never do again?

Oh gosh. Go skiing. [Both laugh] 

That was easy. (*For context, Sarah went skiing during M1 year for the first time and tore her ACL.)

I am not built for the snow. It was about this time last year that I had my surgery. 😢

Here is another traumatic question: top 3 moments from anatomy lab. 

I liked anatomy lab so it wasn’t traumatic. I learned so much and it clicked with me because I am such a visual person. In anatomy, you can learn so much on yourself. I would stare at Netter’s and draw things out. It helped me learn it so well. In the lab, things clicked and I loved it. The first day was very memorable: it was shocking to see patients like that. It is something that I had never seen before and something I may never see again. It was a life changing experience in the first few months of medical school.

What’s your favorite gift you have ever received?

That’s so hard. I couldn't tell you a specific gift right now, but in general, I don’t need big gifts. Little things are more meaningful. For example, if my mom goes somewhere and sees something that I might like and she gets it for me, that is so meaningful and loving.

Words of advice to the current M1s. 

Have so much fun. The years go by really quickly. We are technically already in our third year now. Going outside and doing what you love is so important. Don’t just hole up and study because you still have a life in medical school. There is more time than you expect. We are just starting our careers so you don’t want to burnout before we truly get started.

Contact Sarah at sampallo@student.nymc.edu.

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