Oscar Manuel Salas (He/Him/His)

M.D. Candidate | Class of 2023

Mexican-American

Describe a time you had a realization about your identity.

It happened years ago when I realized that I did not have to be ashamed of my background and ethnic ancestry. I would often be very embarrassed as a kid when my father would play Mexican music driving around. I was surrounded by countless other Latinos since I grew up in the San Fernando Valley of LA in California, but somehow, I felt disconnected. It wasn't until I went off to college that I started missing home and my community that I had a sort of "renaissance" of my culture. I fell in love again with my culture and that hasn't changed since.

What challenges have you faced as a Latinx individual?

One of the major challenges I have faced as a Latino is the relative lack of role-models and mentors in higher education. I was blessed to have my parents as well as aunts and uncles who were very loving and hard-working. They taught me the value of ambition and improving your character to be the best person you can. However, I did not know anyone who had graduated high school (or the equivalent in Mexico) let alone attended college or beyond. Aside from not having someone help guide me through the system, it also made me think we as Latinos did not belong in professional careers in this country. It took a long time to undo this kind of thinking from my mind. I did not even consider of doing pre-med until junior year in college. This is when I figured that if the space for Latinos did not exist in these spheres of society, then someone had to step up and create them. I hope eventually to offer mentorship to other Latinx individuals and in fact I'll be starting a mentorship program with a California based organization soon!