From the moment I first held a stethoscope, I felt the pull of pediatric medicine. Growing up in Chicago’s Northwest side with immigrant parents from Cuba and Bolivia, I witnessed firsthand how language barriers and cultural disconnection can wrap a veil around healthcare’s true impact. Pediatrics, to me, became more than treating bodies. It became healing through empathy, cultural understanding, and trust.
As I navigated college and pre-med coursework, I found my most transformative community in the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA).
This September, I’ll walk into the Sheraton Grand Chicago Riverwalk not as a wide-eyed medical student, but as an attending pediatrician, faculty advisor, and proud Chicagoan returning to where my leadership journey began.
The LMSA will hold its National Conference in my hometown September 5–7, 2025, under the theme “Camino al Cambio: Celebrating Identity and Shaping the Future.” For me, it will be more than just another professional meeting. It will be a homecoming—one that connects my past as a student leader with my present as a physician and mentor.
Back in medical school at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, I served first as LMSA Midwest Co-Director and later as National President in 2013. Those roles gave me far more than lines on a resume. They gave me a family of peers who understood the obstacles faced by Latino students in medicine. They taught me how to lead with both conviction and compassion. They instilled in me a mission I carry into every clinic room: to advocate for health equity and culturally competent care for our communities.
Today, I’m an Assistant Clinical Professor at my alma mater and the LMSA Midwest Faculty Advisor, guiding students through the same gauntlet I once faced. Many are first-generation college graduates; some are even DACA recipients, also known as Dreamers. A large number carry the hopes of entire families. All deserve the kind of mentorship and opportunity that LMSA provided me.
That’s why the National Conference matters—not just for Chicago, but for the future of healthcare. Over three days, more than a thousand attendees will gather for workshops, networking sessions, hands-on training, and keynote talks from leaders in medicine. The Exhibitor Fair will connect students directly with residency programs and institutions that can open doors to their next chapter. Events like the BioSkills session will let students roll up their sleeves and explore surgical techniques—experiences that can ignite entire careers.
When I step to the podium to lead panel sessions this fall, I’ll be speaking to students who are exactly where I once stood: ambitious, uncertain, and ready to make a difference. My message will be simple: Your voice matters now more than ever. Your identity is your strength. The relationships you build here can last a lifetime.
Chicago is the perfect host for this year’s gathering. It’s a city defined by its resilience, diversity, and pride in its neighborhoods. The same qualities that make our city great are the ones that will shape the next generation of Latino physicians.
For me, this conference is about coming home—to my city, my medical school, and the organization that helped raise me as a leader; but it’s also about looking ahead. Because in those hotel ballrooms on the Riverwalk, the future of medicine will be finding its voice. And I can’t wait to hear it!
If you are a pre-medical student, medical trainee, or physician looking to connect with a network that will challenge, inspire, and uplift you, I invite you to join us. Walk alongside us on this Camino al Cambio—because our communities are counting on the future doctors and leaders who will be in that room.
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