Student speaker, Tulane 34 recipient graduating with three degrees
After six years of intense study, Arianne D. Sacramento’s time at Tulane is ending. She will be graduating in May with three degrees, including a Doctor of Medicine (MD), a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a Master of Public Health (MPH).
Sacramento turned in her last paper for her MPH and finished her final elective toward her MD in April.
“It was a surreal feeling,” she said. “But Dr. Sacramento is moving back to Sacramento.” She will be starting her internal medicine residency at the University of California–Davis this June.
Sacramento has been selected as a Unified Commencement Ceremony student speaker this year and is a recipient of the Tulane 34 Award, which is given annually to 34 graduating students who have distinguished themselves while at Tulane.
Before coming to Tulane, Sacramento spent eight years in research – behavioral and neural genetics, addiction neurobiology, then pharmacology and cancer biology. Along the way, she decided to go to medical school and also pursued the MD/MBA program.
“I wanted to get the skills from an MBA to help me navigate the healthcare system as a doctor,” she said.
She added the MPH after her second year and joined the Health Systems Management track.
“It built off of what the MBA taught me but with the focus on health care,” she said.
Sacramento spent four years in student leadership, mostly with the Graduate and Professional Student Association (GAPSA), the unifying body of the graduate and professional divisions of Tulane.
“I got to speak to, learn from, and work with so many peers with so many perspectives. That was one of the more fulfilling things I’ve done at Tulane,” she said.
She remembers worrying about being in a different place in life than her classmates when she first started medical school. But she quickly learned there is always room for personal growth, whether through student leadership, school or living in New Orleans.
“There is nothing wrong with being humbled and growing. I’ve learned from everyone around me,” she said. “This has been so enriching and places me in a good mindset for being a good doctor.”
