Rocco was born and raised in Stony Brook, New York. Rocco’s interest in the sciences began early, leading him to a semifinalist distinction in the 2012 Intel Science Talent Search for a project on novel chemotherapeutics. At Dartmouth College, he earned a BA in Engineering Sciences with Honors and a minor in Spanish, graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. His senior engineering thesis, which aimed to identify bacteria that cause human disease using gas chromatography, took him to a conference in Riva del Garda, Italy, to present his work. As an undergrad, some of his most memorable experiences were traveling to Argentina, Nicaragua, and Peru for both medical service missions as well as to hone his Spanish. He spent one year as a research assistant at Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City before matriculating at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where he is an MD candidate.
Rocco’s interest in teaching began at Dartmouth, where past experiences with great professors and TAs inspired him to serve as a teaching assistant for a core engineering class, Introduction to Systems. At Sinai, he tutors first-year medical students in their introductory anatomy course. He also mentors high school students interested in exploring STEM fields in college. Over the years, Rocco has provided informal advice to many students navigating the medical school application process, medical school courses, and Step 1 preparation. At Cambridge Coaching, Rocco’s focus is MD admissions counseling and USMLE Step 1 preparation.
In his free time, Rocco enjoys playing tennis and squash, skiing, gardening, and reading on his Kindle. He recently picked up running as a new hobby, and his current goal is training for his first half-marathon!
