Ambrose Monye purchased his cap and gown and told his family he wanted to be a cardiologist.
But the 28-year-old medical student, weeks away from his graduation, vanished without a trace more than a week ago, and Chicago police say they have no leads in the case.
Monye was last seen around 7 p.m. on April 22, walking toward the University of Chicago's John Crerar Medical Library, where he'd often go to study, according to investigators.
Monye attends Guadalajara University in Mexico but was in Chicago completing his clinical rotations at Jackson Park Hospital before his graduation on June 1.
No one has seen or heard from Monye since then -- and the family told FoxNews.com Wednesday there has been no activity on his cellphone, credit cards or email since he disappeared.
Monye's younger brother, Joseph, also a medical student, described his brother as soft-spoken and friendly and said he was "always in communication" with his three siblings and parents, who live in Glenn Dale, Md.
"We’re a pretty tight-knit family," said 25-year-old Joseph, also a medical student at Guadalajara University, who, like his brother, is studying in Chicago.
"My mom doesn’t go for two days without talking to us," he said.
Joseph Monye said he entered his brother's locked studio apartment at around 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 24, after he didn't respond to a text message sent the previous night. There, the younger Monye said he found a reading lamp, air conditioning unit and standing fan turned on. Fresh groceries were stocked in the refridgerator and Monye's laptop was sitting in its usual spot, according to his brother. The only items missing were the man's wallet and cellphone.
Joseph Monye noted his brother was preparing to take the second part of his U.S. medical licensing exam, but said Ambrose -- who was planning to apply for a cardiology residency -- was well accustomed to high pressure.
"There was nothing I could think of that would bother him to the extent that he would leave," Monye said.