About
After working many odd jobs as a teen and then graduating high school, Jose looked beyond New Jersey for meaningful life experiences and funding for a college education. Soon after, he entered the US Navy where he began serving aboard the USS Bonhomme Richard in San Diego, California as an aircraft handler, air traffic control tower operator and helicopter structural mechanic. Jose discovered a passion for medicine caring for his fellow sailors and marines while temporarily assigned to North Island Base Clinic in Coronado, California. Determined to become a physician, Jose parted ways with the military for full-time college. Captivated by the psychosocial issues involved in end-of-life care, he began volunteering with Sharp Hospice Care as a respite caregiver while earning a BS in Microbiology and a Minor in Film Studies from the University of California, San Diego. He then started working for the County of San Diego as an Environmental Health Technician and, later, as an Environmental Health Specialist inspecting public facilities, such as restaurants, for compliance with California state health codes and public health standards. Currently a medical student at David Geffen School of Medicine, Jose has a keen interest in social medicine, more specifically, on the structural/societal forces that shape individuals’ psychology and health-related decisions and outcomes.
Undergrad Institution: UC San Diego
Hometown: San Diego, CA