Student Life
UH Manoa
At one point, Swasthita Sadagopan wondered if medicine was truly the right path for her.
"I had a lot of doubt in myself," she said. "But throughout my undergraduate experience and then my graduate experience, I really solidified who I am as a person and my belief that I could get here."
This summer, Sadagopan moved closer to her goal by joining 11 classmates in JABSOM's ʻImi Hoʻōla Program. The year-long post-baccalaureate program helps students get ready for the challenges of medical school and encourages them to serve Hawaiʻi as future doctors.
The 2026–27 ʻImi Hoʻōla class includes Sadagopan, Dannia Andrade, Camarin Camacho, Johnathan Cornell, Lawrence Gerald Guittap, Kody Kobayashi, Tiffany-Ryan Kusano, Alexia Maki, Nathan Paz, Alessandra Clariss Ramirez, Gabriela Siaosi, and Moeko Teter.
For Sadagopan, who grew up in Mililani, mentors played a big role in her journey to ʻImi Hoʻōla. After earning her biology degree from UH Mānoa, she did research with JABSOM’s Department of Cell and Molecular Biology. One mentor she shadowed, Dr. January May Andaya, who also graduated from ʻImi Hoʻōla, encouraged her to apply when she had doubts about medicine. Her graduate research mentor, Dr. Ben Fogelgren, also kept supporting her belief in herself.
"They encouraged me to apply," Sadagopan said. "I'm very thankful for them. For them to tell me that I'm capable of doing it was really reassuring."
The whole class experienced that strong support during ʻImi Hoʻōla's annual Open House. Current ʻImi students and their families met medical students who had once been in their shoes. The alumni spent time getting to know the new class, offered advice for the coming year, answered questions from friends and family over dinner, and led tours of JABSOM.
"It's going to be hard," said incoming ʻImi student Kody Kobayashi. "There are going to be times where you question what you're doing here. Just remember your why. It really boils down to your family."
Kobayashi’s goal is to return to Kauaʻi to serve as a physician.
"There are many hands here that are willing to hold you up when you need some help," he said. "We're always going to have someone who's there for us."
Alessandra Clariss Ramirez also sees ʻImi Hoʻōla as an opportunity to come home and give back. Ramirez grew up in Waipahu and attended Chapman University in California, where she majored in health sciences and minored in law and liberal arts.
"It's always been my goal and my dream to come back to Hawaiʻi after completing my higher education in California or in the mainland," Ramirez said. "So I'm really happy that ʻImi Hoʻōla was my opportunity to come home."
Like many ʻImi alums, her connection to JABSOM started years earlier. Ramirez began volunteering at the medical school while she was still in high school, helping with events including white coat ceremonies and new resident and fellow orientation. Along the way, she met physicians, residents and medical students and learned about ʻImi Hoʻōla.
"It's a really great opportunity to give back to my community because it's always been my goal to come home and serve the people who have helped me get here. Much like my family who are immigrants from the Philippines, I wanted to give back to a lot of families who are similar to my own, who have similar backgrounds to me, and more of course because Hawaiʻi is such a diverse and special place," she said.
Just two weeks into ʻImi Hoʻōla, Ramirez said she is already seeing the collaboration and support that define the program.
"My classmates are all very supportive and very positive," she said. "ʻImi Hoʻōla is meant to be based on collaboration and teamwork."
This strong sense of community has always been a key part of the program. Since 1973, 327 ʻImi Hoʻōla participants have graduated from JABSOM and many have gone on to become leaders at the medical school and in their careers.
Sadagopan finds it inspiring to see how mentorship continues from one group to the next.
"Hearing all the alumni and the current first-year students talk to us, I really see how they give back to the program and how this program shapes you as a person," she said.
By the end of the Open House, the new class had learned about the long hours and tough coursework ahead. They also saw the meaning of the slogan "Once an ʻImi, always an ʻImi" personified.
"I got to see how close they were by the end of the year," Sadagopan said. "I can envision the 12 of us being like that later in the year."
As she starts her ʻImi Hoʻōla journey, Sadagopan wants to keep building the confidence that got her this far. She also hopes to share that confidence with someone else in the future.
"I want to remain true to myself," she said. "If I'm able to share that message with someone who was like me when I was younger, that would be great."