When almost 2,000 undergraduate seniors participate in Commencement on the National Mall Sunday they will leave behind their years at GW, but many will not be forgotten. The Hatchet spoke with faculty, staff and students to find 10 seniors who have made a lasting impression during their undergraduate years.

Dan Sagalovich is going to medical school, but you might not know it from the classes he has taken at GW, which include political science, photography and yoga.

The psychology major was able to pursue a variety of academic interests thanks to GW’s early selection program, which accepts students in their sophomore year, exempting them from taking the MCATS and guaranteeing them a spot in GW’s medical school.

The program is “geared toward pre-med students who want to diversify their curriculum and explore other subjects instead of just science,” said Russian-born Sagalovich, 22.

He worked diligently as a freshman and sophomore, often “studying a lot in Gelman when everyone (was) chilling and making friends in Thurston.” Sagalovich said it was his “sense of urgency (and) a bit of a fear” that drove him to succeed academically. He maintained a social life and ventured out on the weekends, but said it was a challenge.

Though many of Sagalovich’s classes strayed from the medical field, the scientific research he conducted at St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan demonstrates his passion and knowledge in the field.

After his freshman year, Sagalovich assisted with different projects at the hospital, three of which produced published research that he co-authored. His projects included testing the prevention of aneurisms with green tea and training surgeons in robotic surgery.

This summer, Sagalovich is solo backpacking in Australia and traveling to Israel for a Birthright biking trip.

“I really think I need to live it up a summer before medical school,” he said, “because I know I’ll be in Gelman Library for another four years.”