A native of San Salvador, El Salvador, I was first introduced to the unique place that is the United States in late 2001. I am the fifth of six in my family, with two older sisters and one younger brother. Blessed with a number of scholarships my last year of high school, among which them the Gates Millennium Scholarship, I am able to currently attend Stanford University where I am majoring in Biology, with a concentration in Molecular and Cellular Physiology. At Stanford, I have been able to take advantage of exciting opportunities and get involved with a variety of groups and organizations. One of these has been Stanford Rotaract, a service-oriented club for which I serve as President and International Service Chair. This last year, I was also nominated to Judicial Affairs to serve on as a student panelist on the Organizational Conduct Board and Judicial Panel. Ever since my first year, I have also been fortunate enough to serve at Arbor Free Clinic as an interpreter and now serve on the Arbor Steering Committee as Interpreter Coordinator. Having noticed the need for professional interpreters since I first moved to the US and went to doctor appointments with my parents, I am passionate about achieving equal access to healthcare, especially to the immigrant population. Noticing a serious lack of formalized training for the volunteer interpreters at Arbor, I am currently working on implementing a training program for both Cardinal Free Clinics operated by Stanford Medical School: Arbor and Pacific. After this training is implemented and data has been collected about its efficacy, a working model for the training curriculum can hopefully be implemented in other free clinics in the Bay Area. Starting spring this year, I have also had the opportunity to become involved with research in the Medical School. Currently, I am an undergraduate researcher in the Wernig Lab and am researching the induction of fibroblasts into neurons. Looking ahead, due to my love for exploring new cultures and learning new languages, I am also looking forward to studying abroad next quarter in Paris, France. Hopefully I come back fluent enough in French to move on to a new language! (I’m thinking my fourth may be Italian). My interests might all seem scattered and erratic, but each activity centers on my greatest passions: service, equality, and public health, and medicine. It is my dream to one day be a talented surgeon and be able to use my skills to provide pro-bono care to both the immediate and global community in need.