In the forty-fifth episode of Vitals and Voices, we sit down with Sharon, a senior at Rutgers University–Newark majoring in Neuroscience on the pre-med track. As she prepares to graduate this May, Sharon reflects on the experiences that have shaped her path toward becoming a physician and her commitment to serving underserved communities.

Sharon currently serves as a Case Manager at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School’s Student Family Health Care Clinic, where she works closely with patients and healthcare providers to help improve access to care. She has also begun shadowing a family medicine physician and is developing a research poster with her principal investigator based on work she has been conducting since September at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. On campus, Sharon is deeply involved in leadership as the President of the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) PLUS chapter, working to establish the organization officially at Rutgers–Newark and build a supportive community for students pursuing careers in medicine.

Sharon’s interest in medicine began during her junior year of high school amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Watching healthcare systems collapse in her home country of Peru, and seeing family members struggle to access care, deeply impacted her perspective on medicine and inspired her to pursue a career where she could provide meaningful support to patients and families during difficult moments.

What continues to motivate Sharon through challenges is her faith, her family, and her sense of purpose in serving her community. As the daughter of immigrants who once navigated the healthcare system without English proficiency, Sharon understands firsthand the barriers many families face when seeking care. These experiences fuel her commitment to becoming a physician who provides compassionate, culturally aware, and equitable care for underserved populations.

Sharon is particularly passionate about improving healthcare access and equity for underserved communities, combining her lived experiences with clinical work, research, and advocacy. Through her leadership, faith, and dedication to service, she hopes to uplift communities that often feel overlooked within the healthcare system.

As she prepares for the next chapter of her journey, Sharon remains grounded in gratitude—for her family, her mentors, and the strong sense of community she has found through her school and her LMSA familia. Her story reflects resilience, faith, and a deep commitment to using medicine as a path to serve others.