My family immigrated from Costa Rica and Ecuador to the United States to escape violence and find an opportunity for a better life. After growing up and living between Costa Rica and California, my mother eventually found her way to Las Vegas. It’s here where my parents met, and this ended up being the city I was born and raised in. I attended public schools in Clark County, graduating from Centennial High School. I chose to spread my wings for my undergraduate studies at the University of Oregon, working two to three jobs and receiving scholarships to make my way through those four years. After being admitted to medical school in Las Vegas, I was eager to come back and serve my home community.
Some of my earliest experiences with the healthcare field were supporting my immigrant grandmother through a system that was not built for her. My mother and I often acted as cultural interpreters and navigators for her as she was often under-insured and faced discrimination due to her background. This foundation of my upbringing began fostering the values I hold near today and what really brings me to medicine: being a fierce advocate. My belief that healthcare should be a human right was further solidified through volunteer experiences at free clinics that served those who would not have access to care otherwise.
Medical school was a journey of ups and downs, but it ended on some great highlights during my fourth year including some amazing away rotations. Once I made it through pre-clinicals and found myself going through clerkships, this was where I felt I truly thrived in medical school. Working various jobs since I was 15 years old gave me a foundation to be adaptable and work with any team of people or any patients that came my way. A major highlight of this time was the recognition and induction into the Gold Humanism Honor Society. This honor validated my commitment to service and to my patients, and I am so grateful to be a part of it.
Service has been at the forefront of my involvement in medical school. As my class’ diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) representative, I took the initiative to create and execute a middle school outreach and education program: Future Leaders in Medicine. With the help of a couple of my awesome classmates, we got the program off the ground in our first year of medical school and the program continues today. The impact on students at Title I schools in Las Vegas has been incredible as we work to empower them to pursue STEM fields and foster resiliency in them despite the hardships they may be going through.
My other service involvement includes extensive work in other pipeline programs our DEI office has established with undergraduate and high school students. I’ve also committed much of my time volunteering with Frank Kim Elementary School in various capacities including helping with their community garden, creating and delivering gifts for students/families, and giving health education presentations. Additionally, I’ve organized fundraisers and contributed to The Shade Tree which serves women and children in crisis. With American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA), I organized an educational event on trauma-informed care and sexual violence prevention with Signs of Hope. I’m proud to say this event got several of my classmates involved with this organization for their own service. My hope is my commitment to community engagement will have a lasting impact for years to come.
I will be completing my residency training with Stanford Pediatrics! I am so excited for this incredible opportunity and cannot wait to serve diverse children and their families every day for my career.
Becoming the first doctor in my family is a result of generations of sacrifice. As I enter this next phase of my life as a physician, I am an embodiment of my family’s American dream.