belonging in their new environment . For many medical students , Rodriguez and the clinic have become a new home away from home .
“ As an LGBT , first-generation , and Native American medical student from a rural community , it can be difficult to find mentors that will take the time to understand issues through my own lens ,” says Paul Michael Acosta II , a second-year medical student and free clinic volunteer . “ I specifically remember my struggles with moving across the country and losing all the community I knew when I came to UC San Diego . Dr . Rodriguez not only opened her home to me for meals but provided me the comfort of a support system , and I truly do not know if I would have been able to deal with the isolation I felt without her .”
Rodriguez ’ s drive to support students through their academic journeys is inspired by her own early struggles to break into the field . She enjoyed school and always dreamed of being a doctor , but was faced with new obstacles when she became an undergraduate at UC San Diego .
“ I was not prepared for the challenges of college , and as supportive as my family was , they didn ’ t know how to guide me through that experience ,” says Rodriguez . Her parents , who emigrated from Cuba to Los Angeles , had not been to college themselves . The prevailing notion among students at the time was that if you didn ’ t have perfect grades , you wouldn ’ t get into medical school . A discouraged Rodriguez tried exploring other career paths and alternate routes into health care , but couldn ’ t shake her desire to become a physician . She decided to enroll in UC San Diego ’ s Post Baccalaureate Premedical Program , where she was first introduced to the Student-Run Free Clinic .
26 TRITON | SPRING 2022