Tou Sue Thao
Name: Tou Sue Thao
Class: UMN Med 2022
Undergraduate and Major: St. Olaf College; Chemistry
Languages spoken: Hmong and English
Favorite activities to do in the Twin Cities: Exploring new restaurants and breweries. Cheering on my Minnesota sports teams (Gophers included!).
Why did you choose the University of Minnesota Medical School and what do you like about it?
Being born and raised in the Twin Cities, I wanted to learn from and work with the selfless people that have served my community throughout my life. Additionally, the learning environment here in Minnesota that focuses on health equity/inequality and the opportunities that come with being the only medical school in a major metropolitan were major draws for me to attend the University of Minnesota as well.
What would you change (areas of development) about the University of Minnesota Medical School?
I want both our school and physician workforce here in Minnesota, to continue to strive to reflect the diversity of our patient population.
What is the relationship between the students and the surrounding community?
I believe we’re very close. As the only medical school in the twin cities area, we’re granted the opportunity to go and learn from the numerous, diverse communities we have here. This allows us to stretch our experiences across the entire metropolitan area, forming relationships with many different peoples and groups in the twin cities.
Have you participated in any student organizations? If so, why did you select those organizations and what has been your experience?
I’ve been involved in student council, APAMSA, SNMA, and the Emergency Medicine Interest Group. I chose to become involved in things that I was either interested in, found to be something meaningful for my personal development, or allowed me to be involved in the community. In my experiences here at the University of Minnesota, there has been no shortage of support from the staff, student body, and community, in the furthering our aspirations to learn and grow as future physicians.