Benjamin Popokh, a 2025 Pisacano Scholar, is a fourth-year medical student at the University of Texas Southwestern (UT Southwestern) Medical School. Benjamin grew up in Plano, Texas, the son of hard-working immigrants who taught him the value of perseverance, community, and service. His path to medicine began with a deeply personal experience: his cousin Sasha’s battle with brain cancer. Witnessing Sasha’s courage and the dedication of his care team inspired Benjamin to pursue a career where he could combine skill and compassion for patients facing life’s most difficult moments.

At the University of Texas at Austin, Benjamin studied biology and neuroscience, served as a teaching assistant, worked as a medical assistant, and taught CPR and lifeguarding courses. Outside of academics, he embraced Austin’s vibrant outdoor culture, running along Lady Bird Lake, hiking the Hill Country, and developing a lifelong passion for outdoor exercise as both a personal outlet and a way to connect with others.

Entering medical school at UT Southwestern, Benjamin initially envisioned a specialized career in neurosurgery or oncology. But as he progressed through rotations, he found joy in far too many aspects of medicine to choose just one. From pediatrics to geriatrics, procedures to preventive care, he was drawn to the breadth of practice and long-term relationships that primary care offered. A rural family medicine rotation in Mineral Wells, Texas, with Dr. Shivum Agarwal, proved pivotal, showing him the impact of full-spectrum practice: managing chronic illness, delivering babies, performing procedures, and serving as a trusted presence in the community.

Benjamin’s leadership reflects his dedication to community health and sustainable systems of care. As senior advisory chair of the UT Southwestern Student-Run Free Clinic Advisory Board, he unified operations across ten clinics, streamlined malpractice coverage, and built an inter-clinic referral network. Nationally, as communications chair for the Society of Student-Run Free Clinics, he launched a newsletter and strengthened connections among students nationwide. As president of the Family Medicine Interest Group, he expanded mentorship and organized community outreach events.

A passionate advocate for wellness and creative learning, Benjamin founded the Southwestern Running Club, hosting an inaugural race for sarcoma research which raised over $20,000. He also created a Medical Etymology Enrichment Elective to reconnect students with the humanism behind medical language. His scholarly work on interprofessional collaboration in student-run free clinics has produced structured, sustainable workflows to improve care for underserved patients.

Outside of medicine, Benjamin is an avid runner who has completed races across the country, often to raise funds and awareness for health causes. He is also a dedicated writer, using narrative medicine to explore the human side of healthcare.

As a future family physician, Benjamin plans to practice full-spectrum care, including obstetrics, in rural or underserved communities. He envisions a career blending clinical excellence, community leadership, advocacy, and writing, working to heal not just individuals, but the systems and communities they live in.