In her own words
Sabrina Garcia
Working as an EMT has taught me that the best medicine isn’t just about knowing what to do, it’s about staying calm when everything feels chaotic, showing up with compassion when people need it most, and making decisions quickly when there’s no time to second-guess yourself. I’ve sat with patients in the back of an ambulance during some of the scariest moments of their lives, and I’ve watched their families trying to hold it together in the hospital waiting room. Those experiences didn’t just confirm that I want to be a doctor, they showed me why I need to be one.
I’m the first person in my family to go to college, and as a Hispanic woman, I know what it feels like to walk into spaces where people don’t always expect to see someone like me. But that’s exactly why this matters so much. The patients I’ve cared for, many of them from communities like mine, deserve doctors who understand where they’re coming from, who speak their language, and who will fight to make sure they get the care they need. Higher education isn’t just a stepping stone for me; it’s how I turn the work I’m doing now into something bigger.
Medical school will give me the knowledge and training I need to do more than stabilize someone in an emergency, it’ll prepare me to diagnose, to treat, to lead, and to advocate. The skills I’ve built as an EMT, staying composed under pressure, thinking on my feet, connecting with people in their most vulnerable moments, will carry me through, but becoming a physician means expanding my ability to serve in ways I can’t right now.
I want to be the kind of doctor who doesn’t just treat symptoms but listens, who sees the whole person and fights for equitable care. Higher education is how I get there—how I take everything I’ve learned in the field and build a career rooted in healing, service, and making sure the next generation sees someone like them in medicine.