Brhan Eskinder has the ick that’s going around in early 2024. She’s going to take a few days off from dental school to rest, but she’s determined to log on to Zoom and chat with me about her...
Health Professions
In this first of many annual spotlights, we’d like to introduce you to the Post-Baccalaureate Health Professions Program’s Class of 2023! Each of the following alumni completed the program in...
Fantastic advice can come from anywhere—even from 30,000 feet up in the air. While on a flight, Jennifer Jacobson and a fellow passenger struck up a conversation. Talking about life in general,...
Years of training, years of dedication. That’s what Lauren Jesse brought to her teams as a competitive athlete in gymnastics and diving. This resilience and fortitude have served Lauren well—not...
“I was lucky to have excellent teachers very early in life who opened my eyes to many different subjects and fields,” reminisces Charlotte Young, a 2021 Post-Baccalaureate Health Professions...
Alan Tran’s initial interest in biological sciences was influenced by a life-changing experience during high school when he was a volunteer at the front desk of Kaiser Permanente in Fremont.
When Anne Chiruvolu was growing up in Massachusetts, she knew her interest in life sciences and in animals would eventually lead to a veterinary career.
So she attended Johns Hopkins...
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, Alexander Craig attended Princeton University for his undergraduate degree, studying classics and the philosophy of science.
“I had a strong...
From a young age, Meagan Barry was drawn to medicine. Her father was an orthopedic surgeon and that type of care resonated with her. But it was during her undergraduate studies at UC Santa Barbara...
According to Ferheen Abbasi’s LinkedIn profile, she is “passionate about making strong social change in the world” and her “greatest goal in life is to find a non-hormonal contraception method...
Current UC San Diego School of Medicine (Class of 2023) student Anita Satish has long held a goal: Be in a position where she can have one foot in the health care industry and one foot in the...
Jesus Mejia’s medical career dreams are built on the relationships that he has made. From volunteering at a pediatric hospital in his hometown in Missouri, to participating in the student medical...
In a way, Jessica Raya’s personal background has been built on Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs concept. Born in Sacramento, Calif., Jessica eventually moved with her family to the Central...
“I’m a career changer,” Post-Baccalaureate Health Professions Program student Aidan Loeser writes in her scholarship application.
For more than six years, Aidan was making a difference in...
The path to working in the health professions can be a winding road. There are so many questions to ask of yourself:
While Jayinee Basu was pursuing her double major in literature/writing and political science—with a minor in studio art—at the University of California, San Diego, the thought of becoming a doctor...
With every step Brandon Lim takes, he’s getting closer to his dream job of working in a patient-centered role.
Despite traveling and working around the globe and working at lucrative tech startups, Bradley Heinz kept feeling the draw to medicine.
For almost six years, Kyle Takahashi worked at a private dental practice in Piedmont, Calif. There, he worked on the frontlines with the patients—from scheduling to interacting with insurance...
Back in 2015, Leslie Cachola was having difficulty getting accepted into medical school. She had a B.A. in Human Biology from Stanford University. She had full-time work experience in clinical...
According to the National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions, more than 53,000 medical school hopefuls applied for just 21,000 available spots—so only about 40% of applicants were...
Nutrition is a complex multidisciplinary field that brings together the biological sciences, economics, politics, human behavior and environmental science. I chose to pursue a graduate degree in...
In his finance days, Young Kang would feel a surge of pride every time his clients were on the path to meeting their financial goals. But he wanted to do so much more for them.
\Nutrition plays a major role in our physical, mental and emotional health—a truism that registered dietitian Melissa Javaheri fully subscribes to. And her patients are the better for it.
Katie Fenton loved the high adrenaline that comes from being a military nurse—a path she's followed since graduating with a bachelor's degree in nursing
The field of biological sciences is constantly evolving, what with new discoveries, research and novel techniques inundating a scientist on a daily basis.
Jeremy Kiene is in the process of reinventing himself.
Fourth-year medical student Daniel Shapiro successfully matched with Boston Combined Residency Program's pediatrics.
As an undergraduate at SF State, Jarell Cruz was having trouble getting into classes—either they were only offered every other semester or they were full.
Vanessa Vun is enjoying a successful career as a clinical laboratory scientist (CLS) at the University of California, San Francisco, thanks in part to UC Berkeley Extension's Immunology and...