Getting a Hold on the Impossible Dream : Carmen Rodriguez: Medical Student

Despite the dismal dropout rate at her high school and family fears about leaving the nest to attend college, Carmen Rodriguez, a third-year medical student at UC Irvine, is turning her dream into reality.

“It’s a big difference, especially among first generation Latinos, for a woman to say, ‘I’m going off to college and moving away from home,’ ” she said, “because the mentality is you don’t move away until you’re married.”

Rodriguez moved to California from Tijuana, Mexico, with her parents when she was 6. She was undocumented and could not speak English during her first few years in this country. She said her parents emphasized education, “but for them the top was high school. My mother only completed second grade.

“They couldn’t understand why I wouldn’t go to a local college,” she continued. “But I made up my mind I was going and I did. I figured if I failed, at least I know I tried.”

In high school, she decided to go into medicine, although advisers and friends told her it was an unattainable goal. It was not until she attended a speech by a Latina doctor in her freshman year at UC Irvine that she knew becoming a doctor was possible.

“It was a turning point,” she said enthusiastically. “A Latina physician spoke to us about her experience, which was very similar to mine. She made it, so I thought I could too.”

Rodriguez works diligently at being a role model herself. Next month, she will be honored at the sixth annual UCI College of Medicine Hispanic Scholarship Banquet for her efforts to encourage and recruit high school and undergraduate students to pursue careers in medicine.

“There’s such a need to go out and encourage Latinos to go into higher education, especially in the medical field, because we’re so underrepresented,” she said.

As a member of the UCI-based Chicano Student Medical Assn., Rodriguez has been a past scholarship recipient, served as co-chairperson and organized conferences and workshops.

Rodriguez finds time to help others, despite being told that she should concentrate on her academics. Part of her studies now include more than 50 hours a week in clinical training at hospitals.

“And I’m sure I’ll hear it again when I start my profession, but it’s a priority of mine and something I make time for and, most importantly, it’s something I enjoy doing,” she added. After graduation in June, 1993, Rodriguez plans to pursue a family practice or specialize in obstetrics, possibly in a largely Latino community.

Latino students need support, especially financial support, because many want to return to their neighborhoods that “many times aren’t places where they’ll have an extremely lucrative practice, so that becomes a problem when paying back loans.”

She stresses the importance of using any kind of financial aid to attend college. “It really opens up your world,” she said. “It’s difficult in the beginning and you have to push yourself when it gets discouraging. But what helped me is believing in myself.”