USU Medical Student Rock Band Builds Community in the Wake of Pandemic

Uniformed Services University medical students form a rock band, Toxic Shock, to build community with classmates in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

Five USU medical students formed a rock band to help build community in the wake of COVID-19. The Barking
Dog, Bethesda, USUHS SOM Class of 2024 and Class of 2026 Social. (Photo credit: ENS Patrick Lisko, USU
class of 2024)

March 21st, 2023 By Ian Neligh

The pandemic, isolation and a desire to reconnect with classmates was the motivation for a new medical school-inspired rock band, Toxic Shock.  

Five Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) military medical students formed the band to help build community between themselves and their peers in the wake of COVID-19.  The third-year USU students started Toxic Shock as a creative outlet and a way to help to get to know one another and their classmates. 

Due to the restrictions and online learning that came with the pandemic, the medical school students say they didn’t really know their classmates.

“Our class had a unique experience, not necessarily in a good way, because we’re a COVID-19 class, so I felt during our entire first year I didn’t know very many people,” says guitarist and Navy Ensign Molly Shields.

Shields explains there was plenty to do while attending the university and taking exams, but found that once students later returned to classes on campus, she simply didn’t recognize anyone.

“I think bringing the band together was almost like a social outlet for our class to unify around, just for fun,” Shields says. 

Keyboard player Army 2nd Lt. Joseph Tang says while many of his bandmates knew each other peripherally, they ended up forming their band in 2021 after the student government organized a talent show for their class. The positive reception of their performance helped propel them on to further performances at events geared toward their medical school class.

Bass player, Army 2nd Lt. Hyeveen Cho, was initially intimidated by the idea of regularly rehearsing for shows

in addition to his classes and exams. (Photo credit: ENS Patrick Lisko, USU class of 2024)

“Afterward, we kept doing this about every month or so,” Tang says, adding they ended up performing at talent shows, Halloween house parties, and during the send-off event their class had as they headed off to their clerkship rotations in medical facilities around the country. 

The group plays classic rock songs ranging from bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, to the Gorillaz. 

Tang, a music major in college, says being in a band was an opportunity to continue to do something he loved while growing up — and at the same time offered an opportunity for the whole class to come together for social activities. 

“(The band members) are all from completely different backgrounds, we all have completely different social groups, we play different instruments, we’re all over the place in terms of (military service branches) — all these different things separate us but we can find common enjoyment in the pursuit of making good music,” Tang says. “And in the process bring together our classmates, who are even more diverse, to really have a good time together.”

The band’s bass player, Army 2nd Lt. Hyeveen Cho, says he first thought the idea of regularly rehearsing for musical performances while attending medical school, was “a bit intimidating” because of the limited time he’d have between classes and exams. 

“But I found just being a part of the band and interacting with the guys and girls and preparing for gigs was a good mental break and it built some camaraderie. We started school during the height of COVID-19, so for the first year and a half we didn’t see each other. This was another beautiful outlet to see people face to face.”

USU student-formed band, Toxic Shock, plays a show at The Barking Dog in Bethesda as part of a USU School
of Medicine Class of 2024 and Class of 2026 Social meant to build community among classmates. (Photo credit:
ENS Patrick Lisko, USU class of 2024)

Cho says he’s found the university to be supportive of their extracurricular activity and personally encourages future students to participate in something similar.

“Whether it be in a band, or a sports group, find opportunities to engage yourself in, and (try to make them) things that are not related to medicine because you’re going to be in the thick of it in a couple of years,” says Cho. “Every possible outlet you can find, especially if it aligns with your hobbies, is awesome.”

Drummer, Navy Ensign Aryck Russell, says rehearsals took a serious time commitment but he and the other band members were good about limiting it to allow for studying.

“It didn’t affect my academics but it did help me to get to know my classmates just that much more,” Russell says. “It also definitely helps with stress and helps me to remember where I came from because I paid the bills with my drumsticks for several years before going to medical school. It’s fun to be able to get back in that mode every now and again.”

The band’s lead vocalist Army 2nd Lt. Trey Nettles says he is a strong advocate for anything that can bring people together to show off their talents outside of the day-to-day.  

“It doesn’t have to be a rock band or anything — but I love it — so I highly recommend doing rock,” Nettles jokes.

Despite having been quarantined and separated from their classmates for nearly two  years, the five USU students that form Toxic Shock used their talents to rebuild their  “missing” community.  According to fellow rocker Jon Bon Jovi, “When you can't do what you do, you do what you can.” 

Drummer, Navy Ensign Aryck Russell, says rehearsals took a serious time commitment but the band was able to

balance it alongside studying. (Photo credit: ENS Patrick Lisko, USU class of 2024)