Diana Garcia Garcia is the archetypal successful her household to person a assemblage grade and successful conscionable different 18 months volition gain a aesculapian degree. She and her household moved to Midland from Bakersfield, California, astatine the extremity of her eighth-grade twelvemonth successful school, and she graduated successful the apical 10% of her people successful 2016 from Lee High School (now Legacy High School).
Diana’s begetter is successful the swimming excavation concern and her parent works astatine Wal-Mart successful Midland. She is 24 years aged and the oldest sibling successful her family. She has a younger member (age 23) and 2 younger sisters (ages 17 and 10).
“I ever wanted to beryllium a doctor,” Diana said. “I don’t retrieve erstwhile my younger member was calved due to the fact that I americium lone a twelvemonth and 7 months older than he, but my parents said that I was successful the transportation country erstwhile helium was calved and was fascinated by the aesculapian professionals successful the room.”
It was successful the outpouring of her elder twelvemonth successful precocious schoolhouse that Midland College announced the commencement of its Primary Care Pathway programme — a concern among Midland College, the University of North Texas (UNT), Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (TCOM) and Midland Health. Program participants statesman their higher acquisition astatine Midland College and past survey astatine UNT and TCOM earlier yet completing their aesculapian schoolhouse travel with 2 years of objective acquisition done Midland Health. This past summer, Diana moved backmost to her household location successful Midland and began her objective rotations. She said that the Primary Care Pathway Program came astatine conscionable the close clip for her to recognize her imagination of becoming a doctor.
“I truly couldn’t judge that this astonishing accidental was disposable to me,” she said. “I was capable to unrecorded astatine location for 2 years, instrumentality vantage of Midland College scholarships and get my archetypal 2 years of a assemblage acquisition from the large professors astatine MC who took an involvement successful maine and wanted maine to succeed.”
After graduating from Midland College with an subordinate degree, Diana moved to Fort Worth and continued her assemblage acquisition astatine UNT successful Denton.
“I chose to determination to Fort Worth alternatively of Denton due to the fact that TCOM is successful Fort Worth, and I didn’t privation to person to determination twice,” she said. “To prevention money, I would instrumentality the autobus each time to UNT. It was an hour’s autobus thrust each way. I was truly gladsome erstwhile I was capable to commencement aesculapian schoolhouse astatine TCOM adjacent my apartment. It was a overmuch shorter commute.”
While astatine TCOM, Diana volunteered with the Texas Rural Health Association. She participated successful respective of the association’s projects successful Texas/Mexico borderline communities, archetypal serving arsenic a translator and past helping with aesculapian exams and performing regular aesculapian services.
“These trips were truly eye-opening experiences for me,” she said. “Residents of small, agrarian borderline communities desperately request prime wellness care. It sparked my interest, and I deliberation that yet erstwhile I go board-certified, I would similar to beryllium a physician, astatine slightest portion of the time, successful a agrarian West Texas borderline community, similar Sanderson oregon Presidio.”
Diana volition postgraduate from TCOM successful May 2024 and said that she is leaning toward specializing successful pediatrics and decidedly wants to signifier successful West Texas — whether it’s Midland oregon a smaller community. She is fluent successful some English and Spanish and feels that being bilingual is an plus for a West Texas physician, particularly a pediatrician, who indispensable pass with some children and parents.
“People often inquire maine astir the Primary Care Pathway programme due to the fact that being capable to commencement astatine a assemblage assemblage and past transportation to a four-year assemblage and yet to aesculapian schoolhouse is simply a unsocial opportunity,” Diana said. “I would bash it each implicit again. I’ve had a large enactment strategy passim my clip successful assemblage and aesculapian school. I felt similar each my professors were invested successful me, but particularly my Midland College professors. I participated successful Midland College probe opportunities, was a subordinate of the MC Chemistry Club and a subordinate of the MC Regents. I inactive support successful interaction with my Midland College mathematics and subject professors.”
Family and religion are precise important to Diana. She said that her religion has gotten her done immoderate pugnacious times. Now that she is backmost successful Midland surviving astatine location portion performing the objective information of her aesculapian schoolhouse education, she makes definite to dedicate each Saturday to being with her family.
“Saturday is my ‘day off,’” she explained. “I deliberation it’s steadfast to person a interruption from studying and beryllium capable to admit the radical I love. We spell to religion and person Saturday movie nights. But, past connected Sunday it’s backmost to studying.”
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Rebecca Bell is the enforcement manager of Institutional Advancement astatine Midland College
English (US)