Each year, a committee of former and current Oshkosh North staff members selects an inspiring alumnus to enter the school’s Hall of Fame.
This year, the committee selected cardiologist Dr. Sumit Ringwala, and on Monday, May 6, 2024, the 1998 graduate was inducted into the Hall of Fame.
When Ringwala received the call that he was selected for the award, it took him by surprise.
“It’s not something you think is going to happen.”
Ringwala attended medical school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, completing his residency at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Dr. Ringwala also undertook doctoral fellowships at the University of South Florida College of Medicine and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center GME.
Through his hard work in medical school, Ringwala learned many valuable lessons, like being humble and asking for help when needed.
“There are times when you’re going to be in over your head. For me, ‘over my head’ is a patient dying. When you first start [in the medical field], you don’t know how to fix that, and that takes trust in yourself to say ‘I don’t know’. It’s okay not to know. You just have to be humble enough to say to that nurse who’s been doing it for 20 years: ‘I don’t know what I’m doing, what do you suggest?’”
When he entered college, Ringwala noticed the expectations of high school and college were very different, and the transition was difficult for him.
“There’s a big disconnect between the preparation in high school, and what you’re expected to do in college. I had a 3.98 GPA in high school, I was never used to getting anything less than an A in everything. You go to college, and you’re competing against all those people who had a 3.98, and then people from India, China and all over the world that are even smarter. You’re not the top dog anymore, and that was a really rude awakening for me. I really had to focus, and ask for help.”
Ringwala recalls having nearly all A-grades in high school and being in clubs such as the Polaris National Honors Society and the Tennis Club.
“I was in North’s Tennis Team, National Honors Society, and math club.”
The former student confessed he never truly knew how to write until his senior year of high school when former English teacher Jim White taught him.
“Jim White taught me how to write. I didn’t know how to write going into my senior year in high school. I was a ridiculously horrible writer, and Jim White was like, ‘So you’re going to go into medical school? You have to learn how to write!’, and he taught me how to write and that was very important for me.”
Outside of being a cardiologist, Ringwala enjoys running the Brown County Robotics Team and being involved in the IndUS of the Fox Valley.
“I’m part of the Brown County Robotics up north. I’m also involved in IndUS, India-US Relations, and we do a lot of philanthropy activities. I’m also in the American College of Cardiology because cardiology does take up a lot of time!”
At the assembly, he spoke about staying present when working towards a goal, not looking towards the future.
“There is a goal, and you should have that in mind. But your be-all end-all is not the goal; it’s what you’re seeing that day. Be the best that you can be in that process, and if you worry about what’s in front of you, and you do the best that you can do at that time, you’ll gradually get better.”
To students who want to pursue a medical career, Ringwala suggests they have a good process, and enjoy the ride of college.
“For me, it was 16 years after high school for college, and that’s a ton of years. If you didn’t enjoy each and every part of that process, you’ve missed your twenties and half of your thirties, so you have to enjoy that ride.”
