Four freshmen on fast track to med school at FIU

FIU has launched a program that many high school, pre-med students consider the ultimate opportunity.  

The university’s new, seven-year accelerated program allows FIU Honors College students to earn a bachelor’s in biology while seamlessly beginning medical school at FIU during their fourth year as undergraduates. As long as students continue to meet several academic requirements and successfully complete the interview process, they are guaranteed spots within FIU’s medical program and will graduate with an M.D. at the end of the seven years.

“This program is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” says incoming freshman and biology major Angelo Azzaretto. Azzaretto is one of four Honors College students who were invited to join the first class of the accelerated program.

Olivia Jose, another incoming freshman in the program, says that when she stumbled across the program online, she was instantly sold on FIU. “This is a dream come true,” she says. “The perfect opportunity for an aspiring physician in Miami.”

The beginning of something great

The program is a collaboration between the FIU Honors College, the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine and the College of Arts, Sciences & Education.

“The idea was born over cafecito with me and Juan Cendan [dean of FIU Wertheim Medicine],” says Juan Carlos Espinosa, dean of the FIU Honors College. “Many Honors College students want to follow the healthcare path. We’ve been collaborating for years to help build pathways for our students.” 

He says they wanted to up the ante on pathway offerings. “We wanted to provide an opportunity for top students starting out at FIU and interested in medicine,” Espinosa explains. “We wanted to prepare them and challenge them with a rigorous curriculum to get a head start on their studies. These students shine. You can see them from far away. And we want to help them succeed.”

Enter the seven-year accelerated program. It offers a robust biology curriculum that will equip students to triumph in med school. Part of the curriculum also requires students to gain research experience and clinical hours. Likewise, students have regular academic advising meetings and check-ins with adminsitrator Brenda Luna to discuss their goals and progress. 

“The program is set up so that the students can and will succeed,” says Cendan, dean of FIU Wertheim Medicine. “I remember 25 or 30 years ago, looking at medical schools that had these accelerated programs. It’s a special thing. Now we have it at FIU. It’s big for the students, it’s big for us, and it’s big for the university.”

He says it’s also important for the profession across the country, and especially across the state.

“A third of Florida physicians are of retirement age,” Cendan says. “If they all retire right now, that would leave a gaping chasm that would be very hard to fill rapidly. What we do at FIU feeds into the physician workforce. Anything that we could be doing as a system to get people through and help physicians, whether it is through education, training or fellowships, it’s worth exploring. We are turning out physicians ready to support the needs of Floridians. This is part of that narrative.”

Meet the four outstanding students who are kicking off the program.

Revati Sabat

For Revati Sabat, medicine is the combination of science and human connection. As a child, Sabat would often go to work with her dad, a doctor. She would interact with doctors during the day and talk to them in the lunchroom. She would sift through anatomy books her dad brought home from work.

She says her mom and dad are her inspiration. “Growing up, I saw them work hard. Seeing that passion for what they do… That’s more than giving me a career to follow. They gave me an understanding of chasing what you want.”

In high school, she realized medicine was what she wanted. As part of an AP research class at her school she began to research the effects of COVID-19 vaccines in people with Parkinson’s Disease. She reached out to local researchers and worked with them as she conducted her study, interviewing 34 patients with Parkinson’s Disease.

Her study was published in Frontiers in Immunology, with Sabat listed as the study’s first author. The study has already been cited in an article in the United Kingdom.

“I’m very fortunate to have had the opportunity to publish in high school,” Sabat says. “I like working on projects with direct impact on current issues. I thought it was something that could be useful not just for my research class but for the community.”

Sabat graduated as the valedictorian of Eastside High School in Gainesville, where she was part of the school’s IB program. She was recognized as an AP Scholar and was her district’s nominee for Sunshine State Scholar, which recognizes top 11^th graders in STEM.

She founded a club called Science4Kids, in which she went to underserved schools regularly to provide children an opportunity to experience science through experiments and activities. She was captain of the varsity swim team and was part of Mu Alpha Theta (international math honor society), the Spanish Honors Society and the National Honor Society. She was also vice president of her school’s chapter of Future Health Professionals (known as HOSA). She was also involved in the local Indian Cultural and Education Center group, where she choreographed and performed dances at events such as India Fest.

In school, Sabat was part of student teams that won first place at the Alachua Brain Bee, first place at the regional HOSA competition (in the creative problem-solving category) and fourth place at the National Science Bowl. She also shadowed pediatric doctors, which cemented her love for medical care.

Angelo Azzaretto

Angelo Azzaretto wants to become the first person in his family to be a doctor. He views the profession as a vocation — a calling to serve.

“It’s about having a bigger purpose,” he says. “Being a physician gives you so much purpose and meaning in life. The thought that I’ll be able to help as many people as I possibly can... That keeps me motivated.”

He discovered his interest in medicine while in high school, but the seeds were planted at a very early age. Azzaretto was in second grade when he had his appendix removed. He remembers feeling nervous as he prepared to enter the surgery room. The last person he spoke to was the team’s anesthesiologist. “I remember how comforting he was,” Azzaretto says. It changed everything for him. Whether he becomes an anesthesiologist or not, Azzaretto wants to be that doctor, the one helping his patients and comforting them when they need it most.

Azzaretto graduated from Christopher Columbus High School with a slew of honors. He was selected to join the school’s prestigious Mas Scholars program early on. He earned various awards from the College Board, including its national recognition as a scholar as well as the AP Capstone Diploma and AP Scholar with Distinction award. He was also selected to receive the school’s SebastianStrong Foundation Scholarship, which is given to a graduating senior with an interest in pursuing medicine.

Azzaretto was president of the Pre-Med Club and the French Club and was vice president of the Environmental Club, through which he led an initiative across the school to collect and recycle plastic and aluminum (the waste would be sent to a company to recycle the material into school merchandise). He was involved with the National Honor Society, National Science Honor Society and Jiu-Jitsu club. He also volunteered to help children, especially those with special needs and those attending schools in underserved areas, through various programs.

He conducted research on ocean habitats as part of his AP research project. He tested pH levels at various locations in Florida to explore the relationship between ocean acidity and the health of corals, as well as its implications for mangrove-coral habitats.

Through a school program, he also earned certification as an EMT, which required him to complete two clinical experiences at hospitals and work shifts with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, riding along during response calls. He also dedicated two of his summers to completing externships — one at Baptist Health, learning the business and supply chain side of health management, and the other shadowing a cardiologist.

Olivia Jose

Olivia Jose is passionate about giving back to her community. That’s why she wants to be a doctor.

The daughter of two physicians, she has medicine in her blood. But she didn’t realize her calling for the profession until she was 15 and discovered — through a science elective — that she enjoyed learning about the complexities of anatomy and physiology.

For two consecutive summers, she volunteered for more than 240 hours in the radiology department at the University of Miami’s Lennar Foundation Medical Center. There she transported patients and aided technicians with imaging machinery in the operation room, among other tasks. She also worked with a team of mostly medical students and residents on a paper about rare anatomical variants found during ACL reconstruction surgery. Today, she is a credited author of the article, which was published through Elsevier in the Radiology Case Reports journal.

Jose graduated from Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart with high honors. She was a Silver Knight nominee in science. She received recognition as an AP Scholar with Distinction and as a College Board Scholar. She earned school awards for achievement in AP United States history and mechanical and electrical engineering. She was part of Mu Alpha Theta, National Technical Honor Society, Science National Honor Society and National Chinese Honor Society. 

 
As president of Carrollton’s solo and wind ensemble and a clarinetist, she often played at school Masses and concerts. She was part of the Florida All-State Honor Band. As a pianist, she also performed at school recitals and played at a nursing home, to the delight of its residents. She studied Mandarin and performed in Chinese language competitions across the state. She also ran varsity cross country and track and field. She has mentored children through various organizations, including Breakthrough Miami, which supports underserved youth. She also founded her own tutoring services (and set up a website to advertise her business).

She says FIU is the perfect place for her to grow into the physician she wants to become. “FIU is well established as a research university,” she says, “and there’s also a lot of emphasis on service and giving back to the community.” 

While researching FIU, she heard about the FIU Wertheim Medicine’s NeighborhoodHELP program, which allows medical students to go out into the community and provide care through household visits to those in need. “That really stuck with me because I’ve always tried to give back to the community and dedicate my time to help others," she says. "I want to be part of this community of service-oriented and academic people."

Melissa Hernandez

Melissa Hernandez was sitting in class during eighth grade when she opened her textbook and saw a diagram of the brain.

“I was just mesmerized,” she recalls. “I don’t know how to describe the feeling. I just thought, ‘This is amazing.’ It really sparked a desire in me to learn about psychology and connect that with medicine.”

Today, she starts at FIU — her top-choice school — with the goal of preparing herself to become a neurologist. “I want to emphasize having compassion for patients,” she says. “It’s not just looking at them as a chart. It’s more about looking at who they are and how to sympathize with them and give them proper care.”

She graduated from Cooper City High School in the top two percent of her class. She earned her Cambridge Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) diploma, received an award in academic excellence in statistics and took a variety of dual enrollment courses. Hernandez was the treasurer of the Future Medical Professionals of America chapter at her school. She was also deeply involved with her school’s Best Buddies club, through which she discovered her desire to work with individuals with intellectual disabilities. 

She volunteered at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, where she interacted with child patients during play time. She also volunteered at First Choice Neurology, where she shadowed pediatric neurologists. This summer, she went on a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, where she worked with doctors to provide care for people in underserved communities and shadowed doctors during surgeries.

Hernandez’s dad, a physician originally from Cuba, is her role model of a dedicated doctor. And her mom, who is active in church, is her model of service. Hernandez follows in their footsteps, embracing faith, community and medicine. For years she has volunteered to assist in organizing food drives at New Horizon Church. Through a Catholic non-profit, she helped provide food and baby shower baskets to pregnant moms in need. While in high school, she also began working a part-time job at a Jewish community center, where she supervised children after school.

Hernandez, who is Catholic, says her faith fuels her motivation to become a physician. 

"Guided by my faith, I am driven to serve as a doctor, recognizing that God's presence is felt through acts of compassion," she says. "True healing arises not only from knowledge but from a heart dedicated to caring, reflecting the higher purpose to love and serve. I feel extremely blessed and grateful to God for the opportunity to pursue my passion at FIU.”

This story is part of a series celebrating incoming freshmen in the Class of 2028. Check out the full series.

Interested in learning about more FIU Honors pathways to med school? Check out these programs.

The Honors College and FIU Wertheim Medicine run a program in which sophomore honors students at FIU are considered for guaranteed admission to the university’s medical school and another in which honors students are guaranteed an interview with the medical school.

This fall, they will roll out a similar early assurance program for those interested in earning a physician’s assistant degree at FIU.

And to learn more about the new, seven-year accelerated program, visit the website's page.