Name: Victoria Cuello Hometown: Mission, TX Year in Medical School: Incoming first year student Undergraduate School: University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
Do you serve on any student interest groups/organizations/activities? If so, which one(s)? As an undergraduate, I enjoyed being a part of MEDLIFE, a volunteer-run public-health club that stands for “Medicine, Education and Development for Low Income Families Everywhere.” Its mission is that access to quality healthcare and education are fundamental rights. We volunteered in our community and helped send groups to service learning trips in Latin American countries.
What inspired you to become a doctor? When did you know you wanted to be a doctor? I knew I wanted to become a doctor during high school. My decision was based on various experiences that spurred in me the desire to help others through medicine and influence my community in a concrete way. Volunteering in a colonia, seeing my own parents struggle in understanding the United States’ healthcare system, beginning to understand the Valley’s health care disparities and the need for more primary prevention, and the fact that so many diseases disproportionately affect minority populations, are all issues that inspire me to learn more.
Why did you choose UTRGV School of Medicine (SOM)? I suppose it started when I first heard on the radio that a school of medicine would be built in the Valley. I loved the idea of staying close to family. I later realized just how committed this school was to understanding the social health determinants involved in a population where over a third have no health insurance and where diabetes, hypertension and poverty are intrinsically related. When you form a school based on the population that it will serve, that’s something special.
What specialties of medicine interest you the most? Why? Right now, I am gravitating more toward internal or family medicine, even though I want to keep an open mind toward other specialties as well. I have always admired how primary care allows a physician to forge relationships with families and with patients. I would also love to practice in Hispanic communities.
How has the UTRGV School of Medicine fostered your interests in pursuing a career in medicine? It is amazing how quickly this school of medicine has developed to include team-based learning, new and exciting research, and a focus on the patient and the Hispanic community. Finally, the current pandemic has made it even more clear just how important having a school of medicine is to this area. All of this has definitely spurred my interest in medicine.
What are your plans for engaging in research this summer? With the pandemic and with school beginning soon, I don’t see myself committing to research just yet. I would like to begin research again after learning to adjust to the workload as a new student. I’m interested in different things, including community-based research, so we’ll see where that takes me.
What is one interesting fact others might not know about you that you are willing to share? Both of my parents immigrated from South America, and so I have lived in different countries and in different states in the past.
