Every March, graduating medical students across the U.S. eagerly await Match Day, when they learn which hospital will host their medical residency, the concluding level of every doctor's training. Lehman alumnus Diego Zamata-Ovalle '20, who is graduating from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in May, learned he will be staying close to home as a surgical intern at Montefiore Hospital.

"Training to be a surgeon in the Bronx allows me to work with the patient population I am most familiar with, while continuing to gain insights into improving patient care," he said. "I aim to give back to the community that has supported me since day one, and I believe I can achieve this by mentoring pre-health and medical students from the Bronx and Westchester, as well as practicing as an attending in the Bronx and the broader New York area." 

Zamata-Ovalle, a Peruvian immigrant and first-generation college student, was in the very first cohort of Lehman's SMARTMD program, a pipeline initiative that put Lehman at the forefront of colleges producing high numbers of Black and Latinx medical school applicants.

"I always gravitated towards medicine, but when I moved to the U.S., I realized it was possible to pursue a career in medicine," he said. "I also learned about the health disparities between different populations. That, and the struggles of my family, my friends, and myself in navigating the healthcare system motivated me to become a doctor."

While at Lehman, Zamata-Ovalle volunteered at a hospital in Cusco, Peru during the summers and worked as a welder, certified nursing assistant, and medical scribe. Now as a general surgery resident, he will gain critical experience in subspecialties including vascular, trauma, oncologic, transplant, reconstructive, and robotic surgeries, as well as common procedures like appendectomies. He is particularly interested in minimally invasive and robotic surgery, as well as colorectal surgery.

The matching process uses a ranked choice system and an algorithm to match each student to their preferred specialty and institution. Students usually apply to a large number of residencies because the competition is high. Zamata-Ovalle applied to 60, primarily along the east coast so he could remain near to his family, and thirty-four selected him for an interview.

He ranked Montefiore high on his list of preferred residencies for the same reasons he chose to attend its medical school: its work with the Hispanic population, its tradition of mentorship, academic excellence, and its community values. Zamata-Ovalle, too, was one of Montefiore's top choices. It's an ideal match.