I aspire to be a primary care naturopathic physician, focusing on underserved communities often overlooked by fast-paced healthcare systems. My education has been enriched by exploring both alternative and allopathic medicine, with influences from writers like Dr. Oliver Sachs, Dr. Atul Gawande, and Dr. Paul Farmer, who have shaped my understanding of inclusive and dedicated medical care. Inspired by these mentors, I aim to provide natural, accessible healthcare, particularly to those with limited access. My multilingual skills help me connect with diverse communities, ensuring their representation in healthcare. As the leader of the contemplative studies group, I organized a trip to the Yucatan to learn from curanderas in the rainforest of Quintana Roo, deepening my knowledge of natural healing practices. Beyond school, my roles as a Trevor Project Crisis Counselor and a Certified Peer Counselor have reinforced my commitment to accessible care. Through these positions, I’ve developed skills in harm reduction techniques and crisis management, allowing me to support individuals effectively regardless of their backgrounds. These volunteer experiences, which I undertake at least once a week, have provided me with hands-on experience in life-saving interventions for my community. As a naturopathic medical student and future mental and physical health care provider, I am committed to upholding culturally competent and trauma-informed standards and community-focused care to ensure equitable access to care. My training and experiences have equipped me to offer compassionate, inclusive, affordable or free, and natural medical care to those who need it most.

“Mama, ya está la cena!” I call loudly from the kitchen, I hear movement but is she awake? I go to her door and knock lightly. “Mom… are you up?” I open the door, she starts sitting up and looks at me by tilting her head back, eyelids too heavy to lift further. “Mom dinner’s ready, are you up?” “Yeah, let's go,” she says her voice hoarse. I pick up the first thing I find with writing on it, a shampoo bottle. “Mom, can you read this for me? Me lo puedes leer?” “what? No, let’s go eat.” “No Mom real quick just read this for me.” “Ian that’s in French, you know I don’t read French” My mother is a professor of Spanish and French, and this was written in English. I taught my siblings this new test and it became a ritual. Sleepwalking was a side effect of some of her leukemia medications, she would seem fully awake, speak in full sentences, cook, and even drive out to eat once only to actually wake thirty minutes later asking why we didn’t wake her for dinner. My AP Bio teacher had mentioned how in Stage 1 of the sleep cycle we could function almost as if awake, however, the parts of our brain that interpreted numbers and words were inactive. This small, offhand fact changed our home life dramatically and furthered my interest in physical science and medicine. I intend to become a primary care naturopathic physician, specifically to support the needs of communities often missed by systems of care that feel they must move too quickly to help them. During my medical anthropology course, while reading The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down the son of an M.D. balked at the idea that physicians should be culturally aware and respect the healing practices of a community that differs from the allopathic care provided in a hospital, he said to the professor “What people don’t understand is that doctors have to keep so much top of mind, adding culture stuff like this which is just for like political correctness is too much” I recoiled; I felt this flew in the face of good healthcare and in general decency. Thankfully in response, the professor said “Perhaps if cultural competency is not something a physician can make space for, they are not prepared to be a physician practicing for the public.” Similarly, in another course, a student asked a professor when discussing access of care for LGBTQ+ individuals “What if we don’t agree with their lifestyle?” To which my professor bluntly responded “Then find a different profession” There were laughs in the room but he clarified that he was dead serious and this made me feel secure in his class. While for both of these, my beliefs were on the more inclusive side than my peers I come from a multicultural and multilingual background. I seek and learn from diverse sources of learning as such in school, I explored alternative and allopathic medicine writers. Dr. Oliver Sachs expanded my understanding of how clinical practice blends the poetry of life with the science of medicine. Dr. Atul Gawande and Dr. Paul Farmer pushed my expectations of the work and dedication needed to be, and continue to be, better. I knew that like these doctors I wanted to provide inclusive, and natural medical care to those who have less access. I wanted to know the answers, or at least where to find them. I wanted to stop pain, navigate next steps in care, and lead groups. I wanted to use my multilingual privilege to connect to my own and other communities that are less represented. I became the lead of the contemplative studies group and organized a trip to the Yucatan where I learned from curanderas in the rainforest of Quintana Roo. Out of school as a Trevor Project Crisis Counselor and a Certified Peer Counselor, I ensure that the care I provide is equally accessible regardless of differences between myself and those I support because this is a core tenet I hold for all healthcare. As a naturopathic medical student and as a future provider I plan to live by culturally competent and trauma-informed standards of equitable access to care. Naturopathic and holistic care is central to the care that I feel connected to and personally believe to be supportive and helpful to patients. I learned from curanderas in the Yucatan, cultures of food and medicine that differ from my own, traditional Chinese medicine from family and educators, I've learned and trained as a crisis counselor for the Trevor Project and as a certified peer counselor for Washington State, learning to work with people in crisis through harm reduction techniques which some find controversial. These volunteer shifts at least once a week allow me to have a direct hand in saving the lives of my community, as a trauma-informed gender and sexually queer peer I believe that Naturopathic Medicine will allow me to treat and understand my patients more holistically and I keep that methodology in mind as I support youth in some of their darkest moments, leaning in with them to discover some small daily changes that they can make to better their lives, their health, and reach the goals they set for themselves. I believe deeply in evidence-based care both allopathically and naturopathically. I seek to maintain an open and expansive mind when it comes to the care that differs from what fits my cultural values and beliefs and to learn from others’ standards and practices. I know there will always be more learning to do and more to unlearn, I recognize that being a practicing physician is exactly that: practicing, and I know I will carry this torch for others as well so that we all may be as inclusive as possible for our patients.

Because the university I went to was in Texas and had the name Christian in the name, pre-medical students often felt that their religious opinions should be considered applicable to the care they would provide one day and a student asked a professor when discussing access of care for LGBTQ peoples “What if we don’t agree with their lifestyle?” To which my professor quickly and bluntly responded “Then find a different profession” There were laughs in the room but he clarified that he was dead serious and this made me feel secure in his class. To take part in helping make and keep healthcare accessible to those less represented I began volunteering with Planned Parenthood of South Texas, this location serves almost half of Texas as more locations are closed. I've walked patients into the clinic to keep them safe from protestors (most of these patients were seeking general wellness care), I've tabled at events and educated legislators about reproductive healthcare needs. When I moved to Washington the need at Planned Parenthood for support was much less than it had been in Texas so I trained and began volunteering as a crisis counselor with the Trevor Project. These 3-hour shifts at least once a week allow me to have a direct hand in saving the lives of my community, as a trauma-informed gender and sexually queer peer I believe that medicine will allow me to treat and understand my patients more holistically and I keep that methodology in mind as I support youth in some of their darkest moments. I've taken time to become a certified peer counselor in order to keep offering this support with more education behind it. I plan in the future with my medical degree to open a non profit clinic that will serve LGBTQ peoples in the Washington and Oregon areas. I also plan to dedicate 2 years of service after school to working as a physician in an underserved part of Oregon both to help afford school but more importantly to learn from and serve areas that receive less support traditionally. This summer before going into school I have interviewed, and been selected to volunteer for an inclusive summer camp called Camp Ten Trees, here I will serve as a project manager for the camp and as a Wilderness Counselor teaching students about local native plants and connecting to the environment around them. This is a 2 week commitment and I'm excited to donate my time and teaching experience to this cause. Volunteerism is a core part of my being and when anyone asks me how I connect with people or find new friends as an adult I start with suggesting volunteering, it is a great way to give back but also an incredible way for people to find others who have similar values and show that they stand behind those values with their time and efforts. I will always volunteer somewhere, it keeps me grounded, centered, and helps me connect my values to my actions.

Sleepwalking was a side effect of my mothers leukemia medications, she would seem awake, speak in full sentences, cook, and even drive out to eat only to wake thirty minutes later asking why we didn’t wake her for dinner. My AP Bio teacher had mentioned how in Stage 1 of sleep we could function almost as if awake, however, the parts of our brain that interpreted numbers and words were inactive. So I devised a test, when my mom "woke up" I'd ask her to read something simple nearby, if she couldn't I'd put her back to bed and wake her up again. This changed our home life dramatically and furthered my interest in physical science and medicine. My mother afforded us many privileges by immigrating here. Privileges of opportunity and education that I don’t take lightly, at TCU I explored my interest in inclusive medicine. In Medical Anthropology I learned about socio-economic barriers to healthcare that Americans like me face, and met my favorite medical writers, books like Mountains Beyond Mountains and Cutting for Stone, along with podcasts, and medical papers, kept me informed about developments in virology, public health, and options in the medical field. I used these resources regularly during the pandemic to serve as a resource for friends and coworkers who had culturally relevant reasons to distrust medical professionals and to support their journeys to becoming vaccinated while feeling informed. Dr. Oliver Sachs expanded my understanding of how clinical practice blends the poetry of life with the science of medicine. Dr. Atul Gawande and Dr. Paul Farmer pushed my expectations of the work and dedication needed to be, and continue to be, better. I knew that like these doctors I wanted to provide medical care to those who have less access. I wanted to know the answers, or at least where to find them. I wanted to use my multilingual privilege to connect to my own and other communities that are less represented. I put this to the test working with a dentist who operated at an incredibly fast pace in Houston. Seeing 8-10 patients per hour meant giving dental assistants more responsibility. Dr. Lee pushed me to think like a provider, and be two steps ahead of him. We saw patients with developmental disabilities, adults with difficulty making or keeping appointments regularly, and families hesitant because of language barriers; Dr. Lee found a way to work with and for everyone in his community. At nineteen I bought a beat-up house a mile from campus. I fixed it up and rented out two bedrooms to pay the mortgage. That first winter I faced months without roommates, I hadn’t saved enough and so went without heat whenever possible. My grades suffered; I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew. I found roommates, realigned my budget, and refocused to prioritize studying. I began volunteering with Planned Parenthood of South Texas. I trained and began volunteering as a crisis counselor with the Trevor Project. These weekly shifts allow me to have a direct hand in saving the lives of my community, as a trauma-informed gender and sexually queer peer I believe I'll be a well rounded provider. I have seen so much good care, along with plenty of bad, I am the future provider I am today with gratitude to those who showed me what good healthcare can be, and through it all the care that I have seen as a patient, family member, or counselor that has felt right or impactful has viewed patients as whole complex people, and has been culturally and trauma-informed.