Medical Scholars Program

 

Student Profiles

Medical Scholars are a group of highly motivated and talented pre-health students at UC Riverside.  The pilot group of students are engaged in a series of enrichment activities that will hone their academic skills, expose them to a wide array of campus opportunities and help them to become excellent candidates for continuing education in the health fields.  Take a moment to get to know our Medical Scholars.

 

Mariel Alvarez

My name is Mariel Alvarez and I am a first year Biology student from South El Monte. I went to Bishop Amat High School in La Puente. I love to play sports especially basketball and soccer during my free time. In the future I would like to pursue a career in medicine. 

Sarina Bahl

My name is Sarina Bahl and I am currently a 1st year biological sciences major from Northridge. I like to listen to music, go to concerts, and I also love to travel. I am currently part of the University Honors Program here at UCR and my plans for the future include attending medical school and becoming either a Pediatrician or working for the World Health Organization. 

Jesus (Jesse) Barajas

My name is Jesse Barajas and I am a graduate from Indio High school in Indio, California. Throughout high school I enjoyed music, competing in water polo, and other good stuff. Some of my future aspirations are to get accepted in to medical school and have a successful career in the medical discipline. As of now, I just hope to get through my first year in college. 

Aaron Caminos

Hello my name is Aaron Caminos, and I am from Santa Ana, California. My current career goal is to be a doctor. I want to be a General Practitioner. In my spare time I love being with friends and family, and when I am really in the mood I make parodies of songs. College is tough, it is such a different environment from High school. There is a lot more time and freedom when you become a college student, but with that time and freedom there is a lot more work. So, stay on task, and make sure you set priorities for yourself. Make so much time for homework, then for free time, then for exercise. Make sure you know the reason you are in college, which is to study. MSP has enabled me to see the resources that are here on campus. I am very grateful to all MSP staff for making my first year in college one of the best experiences of my life.

Christine Chiang

Hello, my name is Christine Chiang and I'm a Biological Sciences major. I grew up in Thousand Oaks, CA which is in Ventura County, and moved out to the City of Angels in 1996. I graduated from Arcadia High School this past June. My birthday is on February 22. I have 2 dogs and 1 cat; I'm an animal lover. I love to go to the beach, go shopping, hang out with my friends, and watch scary movies. In the future, I hope to be somewhere in the medical field, more specifically I hope to attend a good optometry school. 

Emerald Dang

I am from San Jose, CA and I attended Mt. Pleasant High School. Some of my future aspirations are that I one day become a successful doctor, open up my own practice, and then become a manager of my own hotel in Vegas. It seems pretty farfetched, but I truly believe I can accomplish these goals because anything is possible if you believe it is possible. Some of my hobbies are figure skating, taekwondo, and track, but I pretty much enjoy any active activities and sports.

Natasha Harrell

My name is Natasha Harrell. I attended Trona High School in Trona, California. I came to UCR as a biological sciences major planning to attend medical school. I am now currently a math major focusing on applied physics. Most of my time is spent doing school work and exploring all of the volunteer opportunities and other events put on by organizations on campus. Outside of that, my friends and I go to the rec center on a weekly basis and stop by Starbucks as often as possible. I also play on the honors intramural soccer team, "Bigger Than Jesus."

DeJon Harris

Hello, I am DeJon Harris and I am a biological science major and hope to double major in Spanish. I'm from San Diego California and I want to pursue a career as an obstetrician / gynecologist. I went to Morse High School in the Skyline community of southeast San Diego and was a cheerleader for my school for two years. I love to dance and family is very important to me. My favorite thing about high school was all the good times I shared with my friends and I hope to do the same at UCR. I'm very proud to be a member of the Medical Scholars Program because it has been so helpful in many aspects, especially helping me adapt to life as a college student. Big shout out to all the MSP students:)

Vanessa Macias

Hello! My name is Vanessa Macias, and I'm from Redlands, California. I attended Redlands East Valley High School. I'm a Dodger fan and a black belt. I love going to the movies, that is always fun. I'm a freshman at UCR, majoring in Biological Sciences. My career goal is to become an obstetrician. I have had the same goal, since I was a little girl. I'm extremely determined and motivated to make this goal a reality. I would be the first in my family to do so. In high school I was in the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) program. AVID helped prepare me for college. It is an amazing program. The MSP program helps students, succeed in college and achieve a goal of entering Medical School. I hope to enter Medical School someday in the near future! It's a great program as well. I've learned so much through this program. As Freshman, with career goals as high as ours; we need all the assistance that we can get! Take advantage of it! 
 

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