Tell me a little about your background. A thought question for some direction: What identities do you occupy, and how do these identities influence your interaction with the world?

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 I was born and grew up in Cali, Colombia until I was 10 years old. My Colombian and Latinx identity is something I am very proud of and the influence how I interact with the world. Cultural identity has always been a significant part of my life and growing up in Jersey City, a very culturally diverse city, I value and enjoy learning from others’ experiences and backgrounds. Additionally, my immigrant identity has contributed to things that are important to me and has shaped a big part of my career choice. I want to be a physician and work with immigrant populations.

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A key point in this project is the process of “othering”—a sociological phenomenon that is perpetuated by the majority group, enhancing feelings of difference among minority individuals. What is your experience with this, if any. How about within the medical space (with school, research, etc.)?

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 Being a minority student in a predominantly white medical school has been an insightful experience, especially when compared to other spaces in my life. Growing up in Jersey City, which is a largely immigrant community, I never really experience feelings of othering. My high school was a magnet school that had a minority enrollment of 80% and majority economically disadvantaged. Similarly, I attended Rutgers University, and was part of a program that focused on supporting minority pre-medical students. Therefore, through this program I met most of my friends and occupied a space that was predominantly minority students, both academically and socially. Once I started medical school, things felt very different. I definitely felt like a minority and found myself having an easier time connecting with other minority students, having more commonality and being more relatable.

Ps: idk how to put this professionally or in a way it doesn’t sound silly but I found that a gap in humor is so real like I swear I feel a barrier. I notice a huge difference getting people who aren't minorities to understand my humor and understand theirs. I don’t know if it’s a difference in lived experiences and like less things in common...or like I just don’t find the same things funny.

 

Can you imagine a future where students of minority identities can thrive and are supported, especially by our institutions? What does this look like? 

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 I think having more minority representation in faculty and students would make such a big difference. I feels as if the diversity office its mostly the dean, Dr. Lopez, but does not really span much wider than that. I wish we had more contact with other faculty and more structured opportunities to interact with them. I know that faculty always encourage students to reach out but it can be intimidating to reach out to a faculty to ask to talk about how they navigated being a minority in medical school or in their career so having something more structured could be helpful. Also, I know there have been some efforts to integrate students by having diversity lunches but I think there is still room for improvement in ways the school can facilitate minority students meeting and interacting, especially at the beginning of the school year when people are getting to know their classmates.

What does it mean for you to occupy this space as a medical student—in SKMC and beyond?

I feel really proud to have achieved getting into medical school and to me that means having the privilege to learn medicine but also be a resource for other students looking to do the same. When I was considering applying to medical school it felt like very foreign concept and questioned if that was really possible since I never really knew any doctors personally. Now I find talking to prospective students, giving them advice and serving as a connection so rewarding and enjoyable. I hope in the future I can be a mentor and open doors for students with similar challenges.

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Finally, I’d like to leave space for celebration of yourself and others— feel free to share any affirmations/last thoughts here.

 

I am excited to have a future where leaders making big decisions about medical school acceptances, residency spots, and policy changes are represented by minorities and can understand some of the unique challenges that come with belongings to  minority groups.