"I remember being as young as 7, and my dad saying, 'You're going to the University of Michigan.' He had it planned out for me," Hatim Elhady told The Daily Reporter. As with many parents, he was right.

Elhady’s parents grew up in Yemen. His father came to Michigan to make a better life for himself and his children. This dream paid off, he and his four siblings have all attended college.

While his family wanted him to pursue medicine, he chose economics. Upon earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, he moved to Germany where he worked for the U.S. Department of State as a political economist.

Despite his continued interest in economics, as a career, it was not where he saw his future. He came back to the Ann Arbor area to pursue a career as an emergency medical technician and is now a licensed Physician Assistant with additional certifications by the NCCPA Physician Assistant Board, with ACLS and BLS certifications from the American Heart Association.

Read more about Hatim Elhady’s path from economics to medicine.