I was born in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and came to the US when I was two years old. As an undocumented student, the eldest of my siblings and part of a single-parent household, growing up in South Los Angeles was tough. I remember growing up and taking on adult roles at a young age to help my single mother care for my younger siblings. Despite our limited resources, my home was full of love.

MiMentor has paved paths for me where I didn?t think they existed. As the first in my family to go to college and pursue medicine, I had little guidance in how to navigate the intricate educational systems. With MiMentor, I discovered a space where I received strength and mentorship to pursue medicine and also serve my peers who might lack guidance as I once experienced. I co-organize multiple projects such Together We Leads, mini-conferences where we use mentorship as an avenue to not only raise awareness about issues relating to underserved populations and students of color pursuing medicine but also develop action oriented solutions.

As a future physician I will take the responsibility to create a similar platform where I raise awareness about issues affecting our underserved patients including the importance of delivering care with cultural humility and this way foster a physician workforce that is better equipped to meet the needs of communities of color.

MiMentor is pivotal in my pre-medical career by allowing me to develop skills to efficiently collaborate with others to create innovative opportunities as we promote the need of diversity, inclusion and cultural competence in our health care workforce. My passion lies in mental health because the stigma surrounding it continues to be a barrier to communities of color. I aspire to be a physicians that prioritized mental health and creates more awareness and resources to address mental health barriers.