Michelle Garcia Vazquez

Class of 2024

Major: Biological Sciences, Health and Human Sciences
Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada

Can you tell us about your journey?
I started off by taking PHED 120A Yoga, and I absolutely fell in love with yoga practice. I realized that yoga meditation, and mindfulness enhanced my well-being and I yearned to learn more about them—the minor was a perfect way to do so!

Why did you join the minor?
This minor will help me develop an understanding of the relationship between the human body and well-being through practices like mindfulness and yoga. I aspire to work in healthcare as a physician with a holistic approach to human health and well-being to guide patients to healing their physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual selves. I will also use my knowledge to understand and protect my well-being
throughout my rigorous academic and professional career.

What do you want to do for a career?
I aspire to become a physician, preferably one specializing in surgical procedures in the hand and upper extremity. As an orthopedic surgeon, I hope to serve medically underserved communities, including undocumented immigrants and indigenous populations. Growing up in a low-income and
underprivileged community, I witnessed the toll that lack of access to adequate healthcare takes on entire communities. Many of the jobs these communities
take on heavily relay on manual labor. Thus, hand-related medical issues tend
to be dominant. I have done previous basic healthcare work with the homeless
population in Los Angeles, and I find my work so fulfilling that I can’t wait to
broaden my impact and help more people with an MD degree. I truly aspire to
leave this world better than I found it.

What inspires you?
My parents. They’ve brought so much good and joy, not only to me, but to so
many other people around them while also achieving their dreams. I aspire to
be as selfless and determined as they are.