Volume 5, Issue 5
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Meet the Freshmen
M E E T THE F RESHMEN
1-3
Summer Research Experience 4
Special Points of Interest • The Spring MCAT review will begin with a diagnostic exam on January 11 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. • Congratulations to Ms. Pam Ferry with the Center for Educational Outreach on her acceptance into Baylor College of Medicine this upcoming year.
• UTPA classes will resume on Tuesday, January 17.
December 2005
Linda Jauregui is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Efrain Jauregui. She attended Zapata High School in Zapata, Texas, along with her two sisters, Gloria and Blanca. Linda enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and because she has far too
many pets and not enough space at home, she also enjoys going to the ranch with her father. Linda was first introduced to the PHC by her high school counselor, Mrs. Rivera. At the time Linda applied for the program, she did not know how she could ever manage to attend medical school, so when the acceptance letter finally arrived at her door, she was ecstatic. So far, she has been enjoying the new pace of college life, but has found that high
school is but a tiny stepping stone in preparing students for college. Linda is enthusiastic about getting her schoolwork done to the best of her ability. For the rest of the semester, she will continue making her best effort to make the most of her education. Most of all, Linda is looking forward to pursuing research in the field of oncology because she plans to specialize in this area of medicine. When her high school (Continued on page 2)
P H C H O L I DAY B A N Q U E T The annual PHC Holiday Candy Roxas, Executive Banquet was held ThursDirector of UTPA’s Develday, December 8, 2005. opment Office; Wendy PHC undergraduates Bishop, Special Program celebrated the season Manager; and Dr. Wedig, with supporters of the PHC coordinator. PHC program from PHC students received Baylor College of gifts from BCM. Freshmen Medicine (BCM) and now are the proud owners UTPA. This year, the of Baylor College of Mediluncheon was held in the cine backpacks. The PHC Juniors gather around the Christmas backpacks are given to Poinsettia Room of the Cimarron Country Club. tree at the annual banquet. freshmen every year Dr. William Thomson, during the banquet as part of tant Professor and Assistant Director of the Center for a 12-year old tradition. All Director of the Center for Educational Outreach at Educational Outreach at students received a BCM BCM, and BCM’s PHC pen, and upperclassmen also BCM, addressed PHC freshprogram director, spoke to were given a BCM polo shirt. men about the kind of students about the College’s Program students were summer program they will sense of family and commuable to speak with represencomplete and gave approxinity. He encouraged tatives at their leisure. PHC mate dates for the program. students to press on towards freshmen had organized a Also in attendance was Liz the goal of becoming a BCM gift exchange and presented Lopez from BCM’s Center for graduate and introduced a gift to Dr. Wedig. Thanks to Educational Outreach. UTPA students to the many tracks all who attended for making representatives included: Dr. a student can follow to the banquet such Gunn, UTPA’s Health Profesobtain a medical degree from a success. sions advisor; Dr. Farooqui, BCM. Ms. Pam Ferry, AssisBiology Department Chair;
MEET THE FRESHMEN . . . (Continued from page 1)
friends ask her what advice she could give them, now that she has been exposed to college life, Linda simply tells them to dare and follow their dreams no matter where their dreams may take them.
Jessica Michelle Vela attended John B. Alexander Magnet School for Health Science in Laredo, Texas. Jessica currently is a member of the Elliot Chemical Society at The University of TexasPan American and is planning to volunteer at a local hospital throughout the rest of the year. She enjoys watching Grey’s Anatomy and ER, and spending time getting to know Edinburg. Jessica decided to apply to the Premedical Honors College because she has always been interested in health and medicine. She also enjoyed her rotations at Doctor’s Hospital as well as the time she spent volunteering at a number of health fairs and doctors’ offices in Laredo. Jessica believes this program is a great opportunity to pursue her passion for medicine. She enjoyed the Learning Frameworks course she completed this summer because she had an opportunity to meet everyone else in the program and learn more about the University. Jessica is looking forward to completing courses with the Rice University/Baylor College of Medicine program December 2005, page 2
she will attend next summer. She attended a similar program, DocPrep, the summer before her senior year of high school. Throughout the course of the program, Jessica greatly enjoyed the lectures she heard by professors at Baylor College of Medicine and touring the Texas Medical Center in Houston. Thus far, she does not feel she has experienced any major difficulties. She enjoys the courses in which she is currently enrolled, especially biology and chemistry. Jessica expects the next four years to be as enjoyable as her first semester and plans to work with a medical research team over the summers of her undergraduate education. Jessica encourages all high school students interested in the field of medicine to apply to the program since it provides students with wonderful opportunities and sets the pathway to a career in medicine. Moreover, Jessica believes everyone in the program serves as a support group to help along the way. Jessica is unsure at this time which field of medicine she wants to specialize in, but a few of her options include pediatrics or pediatric cardiology.
Natali Hinojosa attended the Health Science Academy at Foy H. Moody High School in Corpus Christi, Texas. She is currently a member of the Elliot Chemical Society at the
University of Texas Pan American. She volunteers at the Corpus Christi Medical Center in Corpus Christi in her spare time when she goes home. She enjoys watching Grey’s Anatomy and ER. She likes to spend time getting to know this new city. She says the best part about a new city is the food. Natali decided to apply to the Premedical Honors College due to her strong interest in medicine. As a child, she loved listening to her mother’s stories about medical issues and knew the career would be perfect for her. As she grew up, she attended the Health Science Academy at Foy H. Moody High School to understand fully what her future held for her. Now, she is excited to have become a part of the Premedical Honors College family and cannot wait to go to medical school. Natali believes that the summer class she took at UTPA was a great experience because it prepared her for university classes in the fall. She believes a clear understanding of college is important before you jump into a full load of classes. Natali feels the class taught her a lot about herself, what she needed to improve, and which qualities she already had. Natali is excited about the summer courses she will be taking in Houston at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine. She feels it will bring back memories of DocPrep, a program she attended at Baylor as a junior. She believes the summer classes will strengthen her desire to continue her dream of becoming a doctor by surrounding her with other students in similar situations. She hopes to learn as much
as possible from her years at UTPA so that as an entering medical student, she can be as prepared as possible. Natali wishes to become not only successful in her education, but also in her community throughout her undergraduate studies. She believes this program is a great opportunity as well as a great experience. She believes that any person willing to make the sacrifice of becoming a physician and helping his or her community should benefit from such a program. At this time, Natali wants to become an oncologist or an OB/GYN.
Flor Zuviri, a McAllen resident, graduated from the South Texas High School for Health Professions in Mercedes, Texas. Being exposed to several fields of medicine, Flor became interested in making the health professions her career. As an officer of the Health Occupations Students of America, Flor had the opportunity to travel and meet several people who became her mentors and were influential in her decision to become a doctor. In her second year of high school, Flor was elected to become part of the Medline Plus Peer Tutor program. Her active participation in the program allowed her to travel to Washington D.C., to receive a national award from First Lady Laura Bush. Towards the end of the school year, Flor was able to
MEET THE FRESHMEN . . . achieve a goal she had made at the beginning of her freshman year: to become part of the competitive top ten percent of her graduating class. With confidence, Flor applied to the Pan Am/Baylor Premedical Honors Program. After receiving the letter that stated that she was granted an interview, Flor was ready for anything to come. Soon after, her acceptance letter came; she had made it! Not long after her graduation, Flor took part in the Learning Frameworks class at The University of TexasPan American, along with the other accepted individuals. Anxious about starting school and nervous about whom she would meet, Flor was able to complete her summer course successfully. Now, after almost one whole semester, Flor understands that college is not an easy task. Studying hard for all her classes, working more than 40 hours a week and still trying to make time for her family and herself, Flor has realized that if she can get through this semester, she can get through the rest of her college career. Although some of the courses were challenging at first, Flor and her fellow students have made an effort to finish the semester in good academic standing. In four years, Flor sees herself walking onto the stage to receive her diploma with a Bachelors of Science in Chemistry. She hopes to enter medical school with the same goal with which she began college: to become a pediatrician. In the future, Flor hopes to open her own clinic to serve the Rio Grande Valley residents. For any high school students planning to apply to December 2005, page 3
PHC, Flor advises to start early: “Don’t wait to start working hard for your grades your senior year; freshman year counts just as much. Also do community service. Become involved, because this is what will give you the exposure you need to make the decision about whether or not to choose a career in medicine. And last but not least, make sure you become involved in high school clubs, sports, extracurricular activities, or even a job. They will show that you can handle both school and other activities, and you will gain so much from interacting with different people.” In the summer of 2006, Flor and the rest of her classmates will travel to Houston to spend a semester at Rice University. Flor hopes to be able to do an internship sometime during the following year so that she can become more exposed to different types of physicians and medical specialties.
Veronica Sepulveda is from Weslaco and graduated from Weslaco High School. She knew for years that she wanted to be a doctor, and to have a practice here in the Rio Grande Valley, which is lacking doctors. During her senior year, she applied to numerous medical programs around the state. However, the PHC program stood out from the rest. All of the other interviews she went to at the various medical schools paled in
comparison to her experience with Baylor. The people from Baylor went above and beyond to make all the interviewees feel comfortable and welcome. It was definitely her experiences at that interview that made her decide to be a part of the PHC program. She was excited when she got chosen to be in the PHC, and felt extremely honored. She knew that one of her greatest difficulties would be the transition into college. However, she felt that the summer class was extremely helpful in making the transition a little bit smoother. It gave her the opportunity to see just how demanding the classes were going to be, and the amount of studying that must take place outside of the classroom. She is eagerly anticipating the summer internship because of the new experiences it will offer. As for advice that she has for students interested in becoming part of the program, she says the most important thing to remember during the process is to be yourself and relax during the interviews. You can't allow yourself to get stressed out over the little things, because it is apparent to others. You instead have to show confidence and a passion for medicine. If you are nervous, and don't believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you either.
Chris Trevino went to Flour Bluff High School in Corpus
Christi, Texas, where he was born. He had the same pediatrician as he grew up. After learning that one of his doctor’s sons graduated from Baylor College of Medicine, and that his doctor’s younger son was just admitted, Chris decided to apply to the PHC. The possibility of receiving conditional acceptance to a medical school, let alone one of the best in the nation, was an opportunity too great to pass. He was extremely excited once he found out he was accepted and his parents were relieved. The freshmen were required to take a summer class, which allowed him to meet the other freshmen in the PHC program. He was a little nervous about the transition from high school to college, but so far, he has enjoyed this semester, especially getting Fridays off. He is most worried about preparing for the MCAT in a few years. He is excited about taking some upperlevel classes during the rest of his time at Pan Am. Chris encourages high school seniors to apply to the program if they seriously desire to become doctors. He advises them to be themselves during the interviews, and relax. It is never a good idea to try to be someone else. Be confident, but not overconfident. He wants to get into Baylor’s MD/PhD program and specialize in neurosurgery. He plans to do research during at least one of his undergraduate summers to improve his chances of getting into this program.
PREMEDICAL HONORS COLLEGE The University of TexasPan American (UTPA) SCIE 1.312 1200 University Drive Edinburg, TX 78539-2999 956-381-2847 (tel) 956-381-2430 (fax)
[email protected] www.panam.edu/dept/ biology/baylor.html Baylor College of Medicine 713-798-8200 (tel) 1-800-798-8244 713-798-8201 (fax) www.bcm.edu
S u m m e r R e s e a rch E x p e r i e n c e
LIDERAZGO UTPA EDITORIAL STAFF Cindy Martinez Wedig, PhD
[email protected] Rebeca Cavazos Erika B. Garcia BCM PRODUCTION STAFF Elizabeth Lopez Martha S. Young
Last summer, PHC senior Robert Salazar worked with Dr. Barry L. Myones as a participant in Baylor College of Medicine’s Summer Medical and Research Training program (SMART). Dr. Myones is the leading expert on Kawasaki disease, a childhood disease that, if not recognized early, usually leads to a coronary aneurism by the child’s eighth birthday. The disease has a prevalence rate of 1.5/100,000 but is about 20 times more common in Asian children than others. Dr. Myones is seeking new drug treatments, and Robert spent the summer fine tuning and standardizing the murine model for this endeavor. Currently, the research is testing the effectiveness of the drug Ethanercept on the inhibition of Tumor Necrosis Factor. Robert worked for about 40 hours a week in the clinical
lab. “I really liked the clinical lab idea because you’re doing the research right there. If it works you can get it to your patients faster.” This lab had cutting edge research equipment. Robert learned how to culture cells and use sonication to isolate fragments. He chose to do research in hematology because it has always been of interest to him. Since Kawasaki disease is a childhood circulatory disorder, he matched with Dr. Myones’ lab. Most of his evenings were free, so Robert made sure he also had fun in Houston.
There were several occasions where guest speakers— pioneers in their fields—were invited to share their thoughts on applying to medical or graduate school, or how to balance a heavy workload with a family. He also enjoyed getting to spend time with PHC medical students. Robert thought the location was great because the Texas Medical Center is full of experts in many fields. He used his experience as a basis for his Honors Thesis at UTPA. Most of the literature he has cited comes from about 20 papers published or co-authored by Dr. Myones. Though Robert isn’t considering a MD/PhD, he is interested in doing clinical research. Currently, he works for Dr. Bhat in UTPA’s Chemistry department. For more information on the SMART program, visit: http:// www.bcm.edu/smart/.