Jasmine Lopez

Jasmine Lopez

Ms. Lopez is a Senior at Arizona State University, double majoring in biological sciences and global health, minoring in Spanish, and a certificate in cross-sector leadership. She is a pre-med student and will be graduating in May of 2023. Ms. Lopez attended SHPEP at Rutgers, The State of New Jersey in 2020. Since then, she has been a SHPEP ambassador and is a member of the SHPEP National Alumni Advisory Board.

What led to your interest in a health profession?
My interest in becoming a doctor stems from the culmination of all my life experiences growing up as a military child, living in different countries, learning from my own family’s experiences, and gaining exposure from being a patient myself in and out of orthopedic clinics for two knee surgeries. My experiences, and learning from my family, have created a profound passion to work toward increasing the representation of minorities in medicine and decreasing health disparities. I love how medicine encompasses cultural competency, different languages, mentoring, teaching, opportunities to volunteer, leadership, and research to serve the community.

How did SHPEP influence you?
SHPEP equipped me with the knowledge and resources to fuel my journey as a pre-med student. The program and faculty helped me grow in confidence, knowing that I found an entire community of people who want to see me become the doctor I aspire to be, just as much as I do.

The SHPEP National Program Office and Rutgers SHPEP staff have supported me since being a SHPEP scholar during the summer of my first year in college. Now, as a senior in college, I look back on my experiences with the utmost gratitude and appreciation for SHPEP’s role in my pre-med journey, not only through being a SHPEP scholar but serving as a SHPEP ambassador to have the opportunity to share all I have learned and encourage applicants in their journeys.

During my SHPEP experience with Rutgers in 2020, I distinctly wrote down a quote from Dr. Soto-Greene that inspired me. She said, “It is doable. I was the average person until someone saw something in me. We saw something in you, and that’s why you’re in this program.” I have carried that quote in my mind since being in SHPEP because it reminds me to be confident in my pursuit of medicine and embrace my background so that I can become the doctor I aspire to be. I have tried to share what Dr. Soto-Greene ignited in me through this quote, in my role as a SHPEP ambassador, to encourage other students to be confident in themselves, embrace what makes them unique, and tell their stories. I am confident to say because I have had the opportunity to edit personal statements for applicants, that SHPEP is made up of people with amazing, inspiring, grit-filled stories of overcoming adversity to pursue their dreams in the health professions. They utilize their experience to advocate for others. I am extremely b