Alumni President’s Message: Alumni Weekend 2020

Class of 2000 20th Year Reunion

A letter from Rishi Reddy, ’00 MD (HPME)

Hello, Feinberg alumni!

It has been an honor to work with the Feinberg Alumni Office and Development team over the past year. They are a committed group of people who want to help our alumni engage with current medical students and the medical school. Alumni Weekend is a great opportunity to come back to campus, reconnect with the school, and learn about how Feinberg has grown and advanced over time.

This year will be the 20th year reunion for my class. I’m hoping to get a great turnout, as I am extremely excited to learn how my classmates are doing professionally and personally. My class was the last class to take the “written” version of the two-day USMLE

Step 1 exam together in Tarry. We were also the last class to complete our core M3 year in the old hospital pavilions. The current Northwestern Memorial Hospital opened during the start of our M4 year. I can’t believe it has been 20 years already.

This year, Alumni Weekend formally starts on Friday, April 24, although there is a networking reception with students and a separate “Morning Report” and dinner with Dr. Lewis Landsberg on Thursday night. Friday has a number of options to learn about campus, including tours. There is a mentoring lunch with current students followed by a presentation on the status of the medical school by Eric G. Neilson, MD, vice president for medical affairs and Lewis Landsberg Dean. The Women in Medicine tea is that afternoon followed by the “Celebrate in Chicago” kick-off event for all classes in the Lurie Building. Saturday in the early evening has more opportunities to tour around campus with the Nathan Smith Davis Society reception Saturday early evening and class dinners afterward.

I’ve had a chance to connect with two of my classmates, Sanjiv Shah, ’00 MD, and Christina Jenkins ’00 MD, and to pick their brains on the upcoming Alumni Weekend. Sanjiv left Chicago to complete his Internal Medicine and Cardiology training in California before returning to be on faculty, where he recently became the Neil J. Stone, MD, Professor in Cardiology. He has had the opportunity to witness the changes occurring at Feinberg.

“It has been very meaningful to see the level of change,” he said. “Feinberg has transformed into a powerhouse scientific institution. It will be great to re-connect, even for a night or two, with old friends.”

Christina moved to New York, where she completed her Internal Medicine residency. She has built a successful career in healthcare leadership and venture investing. She remembers our medical school days fondly, including, she said, “PBL sessions, bonding at Borders, and even that Streeterville basement bar that is likely gone!” (Streeters Tavern is still there, Christina!).

I hope to see both Sanjiv and Christina at Alumni Weekend this year, as well as our entire class, if possible. Remember that Alumni Weekend is open to all alumni every year, but it takes personal connections to get the most out of these opportunities to re-connect.

Thank you for staying engaged and GO CATS!