Calling Dr. Men: Agganis scholar leaning toward medical degree

(This is the ninth of a series of articles about Lynn-area recipients of the Agganis Foundation scholarships.)Twenty years from now, when you go in for a checkup at Mass. General, the doctor treating you might just be Lynn Classical alumna Sochitta Men.A graduate of the Class of 2009, Men will travel to Providence this fall to attend Brown University, and her career goal is to become a doctor. The Agganis Foundation is helping her realize this dream, at least the Providence part: Men is one of 16 student-athletes – and one of three from Classical – who received Agganis Scholarships. (Her classmates Brian Kolodziej and Jeremy Dorson join her as Rams honorees.) With Justin Young of English, she is also one of two recipients of a Michael Agganis Scholarship.As Men prepares for Providence, she concludes a time of achievement at Classical – one where she participated in four sports and learned about the legacy of arguably the most famous school graduate, Aristotle George “Harry” Agganis.Like Agganis, Men comes from a family of immigrants. She was born in Battambang, Cambodia, which is in the northwestern part of the country, near the Tonle Sap Lake. In 1997, her immediate family – her parents, her two older brothers, and herself – immigrated to the United States.”All my mother’s side (of the family) immigrated here before us,” Men said. “My mother was the only one in Cambodia. Her parents sponsored us. My father’s side is still in Cambodia. My father thought it was the right time to come.”Their first stop was Collegeville, Pa., a 30-mile drive from Philadelphia.”I was young – six or seven,” Men said. “It was difficult. I didn’t know the language. They put me in second grade, in the middle of the year. I was really intimidated.” However, she said, “Everyone was nice.”English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in elementary school, as well as conversations with her brothers and cousins at home, helped Men learn English. Today she speaks two languages – English and the Cambodian language of Khmer.Eight years after Men made one transition, from living in Cambodia to living in the US, she had to make another. In 2005, her parents, both of whom are machinists, were laid off from their jobs in Pennsylvania. They applied for jobs in Massachusetts and moved to the Bay State. Her father now works for General Electric in Lynn.Men enrolled as a freshman at Classical in November. She had gone to high school in Pennsylvania for one quarter before changing locations.In each of her four years of high school on O’Callaghan Way, she played basketball.”I always liked basketball,” Men said. “In my old school (in Pennsylvania), I always wanted to play. (People would say) ‘Oh, you’re so tall, why not play?’ (Men is 5-10, and plays both forward and center.) My parents wanted me to focus on academics instead of athletics.” However, she said, “I made the ninth-grade team and played for the high school in eighth grade. I did summer camp and fall leagues. I came to Classical and tried out. It was the sport for me.”Men played three other sports at Classical: track as a sophomore, soccer as a junior, and tennis as a junior and senior. She played goalie in soccer after a friend suggested she do so – “I didn’t want to,” she said, “but on the first day, I liked it” – and in tennis, she played both second doubles (as a junior) and first singles (as a senior).In addition to sports, Men also participated in community service programs through the Key Club.After already having to make multiple transitions in her life, Men spent her senior year getting ready for another – entering college. She applied to 10 schools, and Brown was one of her top choices. (Her friend and former biology classmate Evelyn Eng, who had graduated from Classical in 2008, matriculated at Brown and spoke positively about her freshman year.) Men applied and got in. She said she wants to major in biology, and that she is thinking about attending college as a pre-med. She said she wants to become a