Working as an anesthesia technology intern, Sadé experienced the fast-paced environment of the emergency room. While thrust into a new situation, with little guidance, Sadé quickly learned to adapt to the chaos of preparing an operating room for surgery. The path to medicine is not an easy one, but during her time in the Stony Brook master’s program, Sadé learned resilience and perseverance. She is currently entering her second year at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University.

With aspirations of a career in the NBA, Sydney’s career path changed after suffering a basketballrelated injury that ended his athletic journey. Without basketball, Sydney’s focus shifted to becoming a physician after undergoing surgery due to his injury. A conversation with his anesthesiologist ignited a passion for medicine as he saw how happy he was treating people and doing what he loved. As a physician, Sydney aims to give back to his community and communities like his. He is beginning his third year at Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, the University at Buffalo.

Born and raised in Queens to a Guatemalan father and Ecuadorian mother, Josue received great insight into different cultural and social backgrounds. His interest in medicine began in middle school when his older sister became a registered nurse. Seeing the joy her career brought led to his wanting to explore careers in healthcare. In addition to his background in the sciences, clinical shadowing, and research, Josue worked as an EMT in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and is a certified aircraft mechanic. Josue is starting his second year at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University.

As a first-generation Ghanaian-American, born in the Bronx, NY Juliet was surrounded by an abundance of cultures. She has always had a strong interest in science and her desire to become a physician was reaffirmed in high school after experiencing an athletic injury. Juliet’s injury required surgery, an experience that was one of her first personal encounters with healthcare professionals. Throughout her journey through post-operative recovery, the compassion and empathy Juliet felt from the healthcare professionals showed her the qualities that she would like to emulate as a future physician. Juliet is entering her second year of medical school at New York Medical College, where she is hopeful that throughout her journey, she can continue to be a mentor and guide for pre-medical students. In due time, Juliet looks forward to bridging the gap between the life expectancies of people from all ethnic backgrounds.

Born in England, Isaac experienced the transition from universal healthcare coverage to being uninsured after immigrating to the United States. The reality of being uninsured in America while seeking medical care showed Isaac the shortcomings of the American healthcare system and inspired him to become a physician who is committed to providing care to the underserved. His passion also led to his helping found the Diversity Innovation Hub (DIH) whose mission is to initiate, accelerate, and launch innovative solutions to address disparities in health and healthcare. Isaac is a second-year medical student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Born in New York City and raised between Ghana and New York City, Bianca witnessed the disproportionate impact of poverty and illness in her community. Her passion for medicine began at a young age as she navigated taking care of family members who suffered from various ailments. Her unique cultural background allowed Bianca to navigate multiple cultural spaces and learn of the importance of cultural awareness and competency as a physician. Bianca has a background in research and aims to conduct research in the future that focuses on health disparities as a disease with the ultimate goal of creating solution-oriented efforts to address said disparities, namely in musculoskeletal health. Currently, she has her eyes set on becoming an orthopedic surgeon specializing in spine, total joints, and oncology. Bianca is a rising fourth year at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Antonio was a welfare recipient most of his life growing up in Upstate New York. He spent his teenage years living in subsidized housing for low-income families and at 16, started working at a local grocery store to financially support his family to avoid homelessness. Antonio continued working while attaining his bachelor’s degree and was actively involved in advocacy for historically underrepresented students in STEM as a CSTEP Participant, McNair Scholar & EOP Peer Mentor. After graduating, he provided direct patient care to community members experiencing mental health crises and was a family advocate for individuals with developmental disabilities. As a first-generation college student coming from a socioeconomically disadvantaged family, Antonio deeply understands how poverty contributes to poorer health outcomes. His drive for becoming a physician stem from his passion to provide accessible medical care to marginalized community members. Antonio would like to be a physician that improves patient health from a biopsychosocial perspective while exemplifying leadership as a social justice advocate. He hopes to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity as a second-year medical student at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Bradley’s interest in medicine began at an early age, living in a multigenerational household with his parents, grandparents, three brothers, and two sisters. Growing up, Bradley assisted his mother, a registered nurse, by regularly checking his grandparents’ vitals. This experience was one of several that slowly strengthened his interest in the field of medicine. As a first-generation Haitian American, he was exposed to the various health systems in the United States and Haiti. In 2009, his family traveled to Haiti where they volunteered at a health clinic through a local church. This experience taught Bradley the importance of access to, and utilization of preventative medicine, health literacy, and regular health screenings. As a physician, Bradley hopes to create more opportunities, representation, and mentorship for youth while working to increase local health literacy and equity. Bradley is entering his fourth year at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University.

Although her interest in medicine began at a young age, Malena’s passion for the field was solidified during her undergraduate education where she pursued medically relevant positions. While working in various healthcare settings, Malena observed the social barriers that impeded patient care. This observation led to her founding of The Patient Helper Corporation, a non-profit organization based in Florida whose mission is to provide free companion care to individuals with a life-limiting disease or illness. In her role as the founder of the Patient Helper Corporation, Malena was able to bond with patients and learn about the barriers they faced due to their illnesses. One interaction with a patient who had sickle cell anemia led to Malena writing a literary review on the recently discovered therapeutic interventions for sickle cell anemia for the Journal of Medical and Biomedical Discoveries in hopes of raising awareness. Malena hopes to use her passion for patient care to advocate for patient needs and contribute to healthcare reform. She is currently entering her second year at Albany Medical College.

Savannah has strong ties to her parents’ communities – her mother immigrated from Liberia and her father was an African American living in Alabama – which have provided her with a unique perspective and driven her to seek experiences working with underserved populations, both here and in Africa. In her volunteer work, Savannah was surprised to learn that, in Kenya, cancer is considered a death sentence due to a lack of resources and late staging. It was a further surprise to her that the situation for black women in the United States is not so different; many articles cite lack of access to services, late staging, and low socioeconomic status as factors resulting in poor outcomes. Savannah has been moved by disparities like these; she has volunteered as a biology teacher for inner-city youth, as a mentor for black students, and as a teacher’s aide for public health programs in Kenya. She has also worked abroad to track and mitigate leprosy cases in Kiribati, an underprivileged pacific country, and volunteered at a free clinic in Rhode Island to help manage patients with chronic disease. She now enters her third year at Albany Medical College and plans to learn how to address the inequities that underrepresented communities face.

As a Black, Puerto Rican Bronx native who recognizes the unfair tribulations that minorities face in healthcare, Robert has worked hard to fight for underrepresented populations. Having started volunteer work at soup kitchens, he has since interned as Program Coordinator for Health Leads, where he worked with Spanish-speaking populations to screen and enroll people in public benefits. As a student at the Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, he has helped found the chapter of Students for a National Health Program (SNaHP), where he helps to build a diverse, intersectional coalition aimed at advocating for a more equitable healthcare system in the US. Robert is now entering his fourth year at Stony Brook, where he also serves as President of Stony Brook’s Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) and as White Coats for Black Lives Liaison for the Student National Medical Association (SNMA).

Luna came to the United States at the age of 18, having been raised in the Dominican Republic. Since immigrating, she has volunteered abroad in Ecuador, co-organizing a 10-day volunteer health education trip to deliver health and sex education in Spanish and basic English. She has also volunteered at South Bronx Community Health Leaders (SBxCHL) at Montefiore Hospital, where she has assisted in activities such as contacting recent immigrants in Spanish and in English to notify them of their medical and legal options. Luna has now entered her third year of medical school at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where she aspires to practice in underserved communities to narrow the gap between the services people need and those they receive. In addition to educating and advocating for her patients, she hopes to provide high-quality and culturally sensitive care to low-income Hispanic communities.