Minority
The John A. Burns School of Medicine welcomes an all-wahine ʻImi class for the second time in the last four years.
The ten students enrolled in the ʻImi Hoʻola Post-Baccalaureate Program’s (‘Imi) class of 2024-2025 gathered in JABSOM's auditorium for an Open House. ʻImi supports students from underserved communities with ties to Hawaiʻi and the Pacific on a path to medical school.
"The Open House is an opportunity for family and friends of our students to get a chance to learn more about the program and understand what their learner will be doing for the next year," said Kimberly Yamauchi, Interim Director of the ʻImi Hoʻōla Post-Baccalaureate Program.
After the students received an inspirational message from JABSOM leaders, they were formally introduced and gifted a lei. Previous ‘Imi students answered questions from current ʻImi students and their families.
"Having former ʻImi students here to share their experiences is really helpful for the current students, their family members, and their support system," Yamauchi said.
Last year, Kai Hirayama sat in the auditorium, listening and learning from past ʻImi students. This year, as one of the nine who completed the program, he gave advice and shared insights on navigating the program, which many affectionately refer to as "medical school boot camp."
"Based on my experience from last year, I think the words that the current second years gave us was something that kind of puts into perspective how challenging ʻImi can be," Hirayama said. "The amount of support I've gained and how much family I've gained throughout the journey was also special, so hopefully, I could give that little insight to the current ʻImi students as well."
Diana Huynh is one of the ten students beginning their journey in ʻImi.
"In the beginning, as I was looking over the syllabus and what was expected, it seemed impossible," Huynh admits.
She and her support system, including her best friend and her fiancé, found the Open House inspirational.
"Hearing from other students and hearing about that support system that's already in place and continues to support us is very reassuring that we will get through this," Huynh said. "We cannot get through this alone. We have this amazing team behind us, from our friends, families, cohorts, teachers, and physicians; they're all very supportive."
The unfiltered discussion revealed the realities of ʻImi to the students' family and friends.
Graduates from the 2024 class shared experiences of making sacrifices in their personal lives to accommodate studying and revealed study schedules that exceed 12 hours a day.
"She's basically going to like kung fu master training up in the mountains. I'm not gonna see her," said Carol Li, Huynh's best friend.
The Open House allowed her and Huynh's fiancé to learn how to best support Diana in the coming year.
"Diana is there for her family and so many around her, but sometimes it's hard for her to ask for help," Li said. “The Open House helped me better understand what the program entails, how previous students felt supported, and what was helpful to them. It was also helpful to see their stories beyond what's on a brochure or website.”
Those who complete ʻImi Hoʻōla receive automatic admission to JABSOM. Huynh, who attended Roosevelt and grew up in Kalihi, is committed to serving our state.
"The Hawaiʻi community raised me—not just my family, but the whole community here, and I just want to give back to them," Huynh said. I really want to practice in Hawaiʻi, particularly in primary care with specialties in endocrinology, so that's my end goal: to serve my communities here."
Past ʻImi students fielded questions from the audience for nearly an hour. The conversation continued during a post-Open House dinner, during which students had a chance to connect further with ʻImi alumni, faculty, and program staff.
Hirayama offers one final piece of advice:
"Just cherish every single moment you have with your classmates because although the single days might feel extremely long, the weeks and months go by fast, and the year goes by in a flash. Now, you don't get to spend as much time as you did with your classmates as you did in ʻImi, and once you hit the other side and become a medical student, you don't get to see them as often. That's kind of one thing I miss. I wish I could see my [ʻImi] classmates every single day for the long hours, so I wish I could have cherished it even more when we were together."
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