This March, medical students around the country were fast-tracked towards graduation and deployed to the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. Though a hasty graduation over Zoom was not how Pietro Miozzo ‘06 ever envisioned his medical school experience culminating, Pietro jumped at the opportunity to help his community.
Following a one-week “bootcamp,” Pietro, and 165 of his University of Massachusetts classmates, hit the ground running and began working with COVID-19 patients. As he reflects,“We felt a sense of pride of being able to support the Worcester community.” While his two months working at the forefront of the pandemic were certainly challenging, Pietro looks back at the experience as a privilege to serve patients during a time of extreme need.
The desire to help others has been ingrained in Pietro since childhood. Growing up on the Upper West Side, he frequently volunteered at the nursing home where his mother worked as a nurse. During this time, he was equally molded by his early educational experiences in the St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s science classrooms. He describes feeling “most at home” in the classrooms of Fran Warner, former lower school science teacher, and Steven Schwartz, the school’s beloved upper division science teacher, who entered his 38th year at St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s this fall. He credits these two teachers with laying the foundation for his medical career.
After St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s, Pietro moved to Cambridge, England, where he attended the Perse School. He has been back in the United States since college. Graduating with a degree in biology from Yale University, Pietro spent a year at the National Institutes of Health conducting immunology research before medical school.
Now, with surge staffing needs having subsided, Pietro has begun his pediatrics residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. He finds daily joy in his work, and he encourages St. Hilda’s & St. Hugh’s students to pursue their passions. Pietro’s advice to current students: “Try out different things, explore different academic and extracurricular opportunities, and find something you enjoy doing!”