Episode 20: Gabe Munoz
April 15, 2018
Where I come from no one goes to medical school. Medical school is a big deal. Home for me is in California, but not the “stereotypical” California most people think of. Visalia, California is situated in the Central Valley. It is not sunny and 70 everyday and there is a ton of pollution from the huge agricultural industry; Tulare county has more cattle than anywhere in the US.
California’s Central Valley is home to a large Latino population. My Dad is from a small town in Mexico and he is the oldest of 11 brothers and sisters. At the age of 17, he came to the States to work and send money back to his family. As the oldest male in the family this burden hit him the hardest. He started by working as a janitor in a machine shop, and worked his way up to the position of a machinist in a machine shop that makes parts for the government. He also helped bring his brothers and sisters to the states. On one of my Dad’s visits back to Mexico he met my mom where they were married and together they moved to California.
While I was growing up, my Dad worked full-time and my mom would try to stay home if we could make it on Dad’s income. My mother is one of my biggest inspirations. When I was young, I remember my mom sitting down with me at the dinner table to help me with my spelling words even though she didn’t speak English. My parents instilled in my siblings and I the importance of an education, and I wouldn’t be where I am today without their influence. They really pushed me and my two younger siblings towards pursuing an education.
In addition to my parents’ guidance, I also have a half-brother who is a huge role-model of mine. It is one thing to hear from your parents “be the first one in your family to go to college,” but another thing to see it in action. If no one in your family has gone to college, it is hard to envision yourself doing so. My half brother went to UC Santa Cruz and is now a social worker, so seeing him do this first-hand had such a profound impact on me and pushed me even further to pursue a path towards college and beyond. My half-brother now has two kids who I hope to inspire and to be a role-model for the way their dad has been for me.
During my time at University of California – Santa Cruz, I gradually came into the decision to pursue medical school. I had a few shadowing experiences that got me interested in medicine and I began volunteering at a free clinic in Visalia during my summers. With Spanish as my first language, I worked as an interpreter for the physicians. At the clinic, I saw how many undocumented and underprivileged individuals did not have health care. Each week, a physician would come in and volunteer his or her time without any pay. This is something that I continue to look up to and am inspired by.
At the clinic, I saw firsthand a shortage of Spanish-speaking providers. In the future, I hope to return to my hometown and deliver healthcare to those who are unable to access it. This is important to me, because I feel that a physician who comes from a similar background and culture as his or her patient, can build strong relationships and trust with those individuals. Being in New York, I have opportunities to interact with Latino individuals from diverse parts of Latin America; the Latino population in California is primarily Mexican. I feel grateful to be here [in New York] to gain a skill-set in interacting with different Latino populations.
Not only do I want to be a healthcare provider for people in the Central Valley, I also want to be a mentor and role-model for disadvantaged youth. During my gap years, I worked at a non-profit organization that provided after-school care for all schools in Visalia. At this non-profit, I founded a bridge program for high school aged students. This program matched 13 students with 13 family medicine residents. Several skills that the students learned were how to take an HPI and how to suture. I came up with the idea of having the residents act like SPs so the students could practice their skillset. This experience heightened my desire to provide guidance for youth with similar backgrounds as myself.
I am looking forward to the day that I can return to California; I want to inspire those younger than me to not feel limited by growing up in the Central Valley.
What are your 5 Most Recently Played Artists on Spotify?
Logic, The Weekend, 2000's Hip Hop, Mariachi, This is: Banda MS
If you could have any superpower, which one would you choose?
Teleportation. No more expensive flights to California.
Pick something or someone from NYMC go give out a shout out to!
Shoutout to the security staff for replacing my ID and finding all of my stuff.
If someone wanted to talk to you, they should lead with…:
Let's have a beer sometime.