Arman Jahangiri
Graduating Senior – College of Natural Sciences
and Mathematics

In many ways, Arman Jahangiri, 22, is living the American dream. Eleven years after fleeing Iran with his family in search of freedom and opportunity, Jahangiri is now a college graduate—having earned his degree from the University of Houston earlier this month. And, now, he’s headed to medical school.

Jahangiri’s big dreams for the future have also earned him national recognition. He is among 12 winners of the 2008 Merage Foundation American Dream Fellowship, a nationwide scholarship competition that recognizes the most exceptional immigrant students with the greatest potential to contribute to their new homeland. Each recipient receives $20,000 to pursue their American dream.

Jahangiri, who majored in biology at UH, will attend the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas this fall. His interest in medicine was sparked while growing up in Iran, where his mother practiced dentistry at a clinic for the poor. He spent time at the clinic every day after school, befriending the physicians and accompanying them as they attended to their patients.

“I saw how priceless the doctor-patient relationship is,” Jahangiri said. “You’re interacting with someone who really needs you.”

Jahangiri plans to pursue neurosurgery, but his dream goes beyond helping just the patients he will treat. Concerned about the lack of affordable health care for many Americans, the UH alumnus sees his future role as that of physician, advocate, policymaker and educator all rolled into one.

In addition to his medical degree, Jahangiri will earn a master’s in business administration from Rice University through an M.D.-M.B.A. program. He hopes combining medical knowledge with administrative know-how will make him a more effective advocate for uninsured Americans.

“Health care needs creative, market-friendly solutions,” Jahangiri said, and he wants to make them happen. Giving physicians a tax break for working in low-income clinics or training third-world health care administrators in American efficiency are some of the ideas Jahangiri thinks might work.

Jahangiri plans to put most of his scholarship money toward medical school tuition. But he will use about $2,000 for a medical mission trip to Trinidad and Tobago, where he will assist with obstetric and gynecological surgeries.