Thomas Hong
Class of 2026
I’m a fourth-year medical student at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. I was born in South Korea and grew up in Howard County, Maryland. I attended the University of Maryland, where I majored in finance.
Before medical school, my life revolved around short track speed skating, and I was fortunate to represent the United States at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Toward the end of my athletic career, I found myself at a crossroads, thinking about what I wanted in a future career. As an athlete in an individual sport, I had been supported by so many people, and I wanted to give that kind of care and support back, just in a different setting. Shadowing team physicians and working alongside them, I saw how medicine offered exactly that: the chance to build relationships, work on a team, and make a direct impact on someone’s life.
I chose GW because it serves a diverse patient population in the community I grew up in, and its location in D.C. gives students unique opportunities to get involved in. I’ve been involved in advocacy work through the AMA Medical Student Section and have gone to Capitol Hill with fellow students. I also volunteer with Special Olympics DC and am active in the Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association. What stands out to me the most is how diverse my peers’ interests are, whether it’s clinical medicine, public health, or research. Everyone is doing something meaningful and is supported by the school to become excellent physician-citizens.