Medical & Molecular Sciences

B.S. in Medical Diagnostics

Class of 2018

"I didn’t really know what I wanted to do until my sophomore year of college. I always knew I wanted a life dedicated to serving others. I knew I was interested in healthcare. I owe my high school and high school teachers for inspiring my interest in healthcare. Medicine was always an option in the back of my head, but I didn’t think I had what it takes to get there. In high school, some of my friends told me I’ll be a doctor one day, but for a long time I brushed those comments off, taking it as a joke. “Yeah right! Me? I don’t have the connections or the resources. There’s no way!” But one day, I couldn’t think of any more excuses as to why I couldn’t be a doctor. I had the drive, the passion and the grades. My “ah-ha” moment was really just me finally believing that I could become I could do it.

I chose The Fulbright Program because as a future physician who plans to work with children and provide healthcare to underrepresented communities (such as the Spanish-speaking community), I saw this opportunity as a crucial component of my journey. I am currently teaching English in the trilingual departments at a post-high school vocational school. It is “tri-lingual” because subjects are taught in Spanish, Galician (the regional language), and English. I teach marketing, aeromechanics and professional training in English. After I finish Fulbright in Spain - literally one month after - I will start medical school at The University of Chicago. I look forward to using my knowledge related to Spanish language and culture to build the class of patient-doctor relationships that is associated with patient success and sometimes not achieved due to language/cultural barriers.

I do what I do because I know that hard work pays off. Mix hard work with passion and you are unstoppable. Passion is what keeps you going as your hard work gets harder and harder and harder."