From a young age, Dr. Derek Rodriguez had his heart set on attending medical school. Everything changed when he was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood cancer at the tender age of 8. “[Medical school] was the end-all, be-all thought back in the day,” Rodriguez said. “But when I was 8 years old, I was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma. This ultimately, I felt like, set the precedent for the path in which I would pursue cancer research.” Rodriguez’s experience with cancer would eventually lead him to a research position at UT Health San Antonio’s Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR), which is directed by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, who also leads Salud America! Now he’s putting his dream into practice as a research scientist for the IHPR’s Avanzando ...
As a child in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, Dr. Eneida Nemecek learned the effort it takes to earn an education by literally going to college with her parents as they sought their degrees. “My parents are very young. I kind of went to college with both of them in the back of the classroom,” Nemecek said. “My dad ended up going to graduate school, also when I was still a little kid. We went to law school with him, too.” Nemecek followed her parents’ footsteps and eventually got her doctoral degree. Today she’s helping improve Latino health through clinical trial participation as associate director for clinical research at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Knight Cancer Institute and professor of pediatrics and medical oncology at OHSU.
Developing a Passion for ...
Health literacy is defined by the CDC as “the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.” In today’s world, health literacy is crucial for community members and health professionals, alike, to make everyday decisions and achieve health fairness. However, many communities around the country face challenges to health including access to health care, financial instability, and housing/transportation insecurity endangering their health. That is why Jason Rosenfeld, DrPH, MPH, and Melanie Stone, DrPH (c), MPH, MEd are helping build Health Confianza – a partnership between UT Health San Antonio, The University of Texas San Antonio, and the San Antonio ...
Janette Ramirez was looking for a way to help people. In her search, she walked into the Center for Service Learning, Internships & Civic Engagement (SLICE) at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). Ramirez jumped into multiple SLICE programs and helped empower the local community to overcome social challenges and differences in health, education, and economic opportunities – and she left with a passion for serving others. “That’s how I came to find my love for community service and serving others, because, you know, it’s just really important,” Ramirez said. Today, Ramirez is still seeking to help as many people as she can. As a medical student going into her second year at Midwestern University in Arizona and as a Robert A. Winn Diversity in ...
As a doctor’s son, Daniel Ruben Flores grew up in his family’s pediatric clinic. He and his siblings hammered away at their math and reading homework after school at the clinic, while their parents helped the sick. Flores often paused to admire the handwritten letters – and drawings of his father with a stethoscope – on the wall from patients thanking the pediatrician for caring for them. “Wow, all these other kids really appreciate my dad and all the work he’s doing,” Flores recalled fondly. “I feel like that just kind of motivates you ... to go into the field.” Witnessing his father’s work and the impact he had on his patients helped spark a fire in Flores to pursue medicine and help people, too. He’s taking big steps now – like ...
Facing homelessness and battling PTSD, adverse experiences, and disability, US Navy veteran Olivia Zavala Carridine was struggling. She found a lifeline in Grace After Fire. Olivia, a mother of four in San Antonio, got pivotal support from the women veteran’s organization – which aims to provide women the resources and tools to succeed in her community, work, and home after leaving the military. “[Grace After Fire] has empowered me to believe that I shouldn't be ashamed of my story,” she said. “I have a sisterhood with women that I didn't have many times with my sisters serving alongside me.” Olivia got back on her feet with the help of Grace After Fire – and she’s not the only one.
Grace After Fire Origins
Some wars take place on a battlefield, ...
Durante su niñez en Puerto Rico, Tony Rentas soñaba con unirse al ejército de Estados Unidos. Quería servir a su país, dar un buen ejemplo a su hijo, y asegurarse que su familia tuviera el cuidado adecuado. En el 2009, se unió al Ejército de los Estados Unidos, haciendo realidad su sueño. Tony ejerció como especialista de inteligencia militar. A lo largo de una docena de años, fue desplegado dos veces, viajó alrededor del mundo, formó grandes amistades, experimentó diferentes culturas, ayudó a personas y proveyó para su familia. Luego, obtuvo una desgarradora noticia. Después de sufrir una convulsión del lóbulo temporal, Tony, -esposo y padre de dos hijos- fue diagnosticado con un glioma de bajo grado, un tipo de tumor cancerígeno en el cerebro, en junio del ...
Growing up in Puerto Rico, Tony Rentas dreamed of joining the U.S. military. He wanted to serve his country, set a good example for his son, and make sure his family was taken care of. In 2009, he joined the U.S. Army, making his dream a reality. Tony served as a military intelligence specialist. Over a dozen years, he deployed twice, traveled around the world, made great friends, experienced different cultures, helped people, and provided for his family. Then he got some harrowing news. After suffering a temporal lobe seizure, Tony – a husband and father of two children –was diagnosed with a low grade glioma, a type of cancerous brain tumor, in June 2020. “I remember walking out of that appointment, sitting in the car, just trying to process things. A couple of tears ...
Carlos Salama’s father helped people every day as a physician. Inspired by what he saw, Salama knew at an early age that he, too, wanted to help others the way his father did. “People were just very, very grateful for what he provided them. I thought, ‘I want to do this,’” Salama said. Salama was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Argentinian parents. Salama’s mother and father first came to the United States in the mid-1960s for his father’s residency after he completed medical school at the University of Buenos Aires. Salama recalls helping his parents and two siblings in the doctor’s office. “I used to go with my father to the office, sometimes on the weekends, and help them. My mother was the office assistant, but I would do it sometimes, and I just ...
