Photo: Bryan Goodchild
Third-year medical student Matthew Segil, MEd, taught middle schoolers for half a decade before deciding to become a physician and business leader. Segil is pursuing his MD/MBA through the dual-degree program offered by the T.H. Chan School of Medicine at UMass Chan Medical School and the Robert J. Manning School of Business at UMass Lowell.
“After five years as a math and science educator, I knew it was time to leave the classroom and explore my lifelong interests in entrepreneurship and biology,” said Segil, a New Hampshire local who majored in neuroscience and minored in Spanish at the University of Vermont before earning his master’s degree in education at Boston University. “The MD/MBA is a great path for folks who have diverse interests, are ready to work hard and want to keep their options open.”
While studying for the Medical College Admission Test and applying to medical school, Segil worked at The Robo Hub, a Cambridge-based K–8 education startup focused on teaching engineering through LEGO robotics. He developed curriculum, created advertising materials, set up classroom space and reviewed detailed licensing permits.
“I spent many late nights navigating the trials and joys of startup life and discovered how much I had to still learn about the business world. When my acceptance email from UMass Chan arrived, I was ecstatic.”
Among Segil’s favorite memories at UMass Chan is a business operations class where he developed a quality control graph for sodium content in bags of potato chips.
“The task felt tedious, but as I worked, I saw how the graph I created transformed ‘boring’ data into a clear and compelling story. The experience gave me profound insight: across medicine, education and business, the shared goal is to turn technical information into insights to help improve lives.”
After graduation, Segil plans to undertake his residency training and explore business and teaching. He aspires to apply his clinical experience to improving education centers, health care organizations or startups.
“I envision a future where I can combine medicine, education and business to improve my community, balancing meaningful relationships with the stimulating critical thinking of medicine and business.”
Outside of the classroom, he runs a monthly dinner-based interfaith group called the Bread Breakers, which began when he started hosting Shabbat dinners in college. Over the past six years, he and the Bread Breakers have hosted more than 50 meals.
The Student Spotlight series features UMass Chan Medical School students in the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing and T.H. Chan School of Medicine. For more information about UMass Chan Medical School and how to apply, visit the Prospective Students page.
