I worked as a porter in NYC, making $500 a week. Now I'm going to medical school for free.

Nikita Chernetskii moved to the US after his parents won the green card lottery. Courtesy of Nikita Chernetskii Nikita Chernetskii moved to New York City from rural Moldova when he was 18. He joined the Army and worked as a combat medic, which gave him a sense of purpose. He was worried about affording med school and starting a family. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Nikita Chernetskii, a medical school student at New York University's Grossman School of Medicine . It has been edited for length and clarity. I've wanted to be a doctor since I was a little boy. In Moldova, where I was born and raised, you apply to medical school right after finishing high school. As I was applying for medical schools, my parents won the green card lottery , giving our family the chance to come to the US.