Last August, Roman Navarro reached one of his biggest dreams – he began his first year of medical school at UC San Diego. Getting into medical school has been quite a journey for this Imperial Valley native who took care of his grandmother while going to school at Imperial Valley Community College (IVC). Growing up, Roman did not know much about what it meant to attend college. Not until he was in 8th grade, and participated in the AVID program, did college come to mind. He later became interested in medical school after he saw the compassion of doctors who treated his ailing grandmother.

    At Imperial Valley Community College, he faced many obstacles including lack of confidence in his abilities to achieve his dream of getting into a health profession:

    “Having gone to community college, I felt discouraged and disadvantaged because I wasn’t at a university. . . I had the motivation to do things, but not the guidance.” 

    Before transferring from community college to UC San Diego, Roman participated in UC San Diego School of Medicine’s UniversityLink Medical Science Program (ULMSP). When asked about his experience in the program, Roman stated, “ULMSP showed me that with enough motivation, I can come from behind and do what I want. It opened my eyes to the fact that I can achieve my goals.” 

    Another UC San Diego UniversityLink Medical Science Program alumni, Lisandro Maya-Ramos, recently took the next step in his academic training by pursuing a dual medical-doctoral degree at the University of California in San Francisco. Lisandro was born in Oaxaca, Mexico and at the age of 8 he and his family moved to Tijuana, Mexico. After Lisandro graduated from high school, he and his family moved to San Diego where he attended San Diego City College. Faced with this difficult change, a new school system, and a very different environment, Lisandro wondered if medical school was even possible. ULMSP helped him succeed in his studies when he transferred to UC San Diego.

    Roman found out about the UniversityLink Medical Science Program (ULMSP) by chance. One day, while at IVC, he happened to pick up a newspaper, and saw information on Dr. Sandra Daley and the University Link Medical Sciences Program offered at UC San Diego, that caught his attention. Like Roman, Lisandro also found out about ULMSP while in community college. During his last semester at San Diego City College he heard about the program in a biology class. 

    The UC San Diego School of Medicine University Link Medical Science Program (ULMSP) is a summer residential and year-long science enrichment program that provides academic and research skills, mentoring, career counseling and professional development for community college students who want to transfer to UC San Diego and ultimately work in the health sciences.

    ULMSP starts as a four-week summer program. During this time, students have a chance to live on the UC San Diego campus and participate in activities such as: physician shadowing, field trips, debate and poster presentation projects, and book discussions. Classes and workshops are led by UCSD School of Medicine faculty and medical students, local doctors, pharmacists, dentists, and other healthcare professions, alumni, and student staff. 

    Students also gain skills that they need to successfully transfer, complete an undergraduate degree, and prepare for a graduate or professional program. They are taught reading, note taking, and standardized test taking skills, networking, time and stress management, leadership skills, and cultural awareness. Students also receive mentoring, health career counseling and health-related internship opportunities. After the summer residential program, students stay connected with alumni, faculty, and staff. 

    After learning more about ULMSP, Roman decided to apply and participate in ULMSP in the summer of 2004. In 2005, Roman transferred to UC San Diego’s Revelle college and majored in Pharmacological Chemistry. At first he was unsure about whether to pursue pharmacy school or medical school, but he knew his passion and interests included learning chemistry, helping others, and being healthy. In 2006, Roman’s involvement came full-circle, as he supported new UniversityLink Medical Science Program students as a counselor in the program.  As a counselor, his students appreciated his hard work, dedication, and knowledge of institutional resources and university culture. 

    After completing the UL-MSP summer program, Roman was involved in reviving Imperial Valley College’s Chemistry club, in UC San Diego’s student organization like Chicanos and Latinos for Community Medicine (CCM) and Healing Hearts Across Borders, and in UC San Diego’s student government as an Associate Student (AS) senator.  Roman also worked as a research associate for UC San Diego faculty with whom he co-authored and published several articles.

    Lisandro, too, applied to ULMSP, was accepted, and successfully transitioned to UC San Diego. He majored in Human Biology and became involved in two pre-medical clubs, Chicanos and Latinos for Community Medicine (CCM) and Project Nicaragua. Through his work with Project Nicaragua, in 2007, Lisandro along with other students raised enough funds to purchase and deliver expensive medical equipment to a hospital in Nicaragua. As a student at UC San Diego, he worked with faculty in their research. His research with faculty resulted in presentations at two national conferences and the publication of several articles. 

    The Howard Hughes Medical Institute awarded Lisandro a Gilliam Fellowship for Advanced Study. This fellowship will provide Lisandro full support for up to five years of study towards a Ph.D. doctoral degree. Lisandro graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Biology from UCSD and has been admitted to an MD/Ph.D program at UC San Francisco. 

    Since 2001, one hundred students have participated in ULMSP.  Most students come from community colleges in San Diego including Mesa College, Miramar College, City College, Southwestern, and Grossmont College, as well as Imperial Valley Community College.  Many ULMSP students have received their bachelor’s degrees, are currently enrolled in graduate or medical school, or have completed their Masters or Doctorate degrees. Roman and Lisandro are two examples of the success of the program and the commitment by the UC San Diego’s School of Medicine to support and nurture community college students who are interested in the health sciences.

    Interested? Or, want to know if you or someone you know can apply? Please contact Ramon Hernandez at rah003@ucsd.edu or (619) 243-1360, or Mohaammad Shanin at (619) 955-1042.