Washington Heights Natives Return to Study Medicine and Give Back to the Community

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"I acknowledge and recognize that I didn't get to where I am on my own," she said. "The students who came before me had a difficult time getting to this point, and I want to make it easier for those who come after me."

First-year student Crissaris Sarnelli also made it a priority to return to her childhood neighborhood. The Yale graduate is a BALSO member and promotes better health for local children through a weekly fitness program at the Armory. "I always knew that as a doctor I wanted to serve in disadvantaged areas, and I knew that my neighborhood was such an area," she says. "Columbia gives us the opportunity to explore several facets of medicine with a diverse patient population and, at the same time, benefit the community members who are able to receive medical care near their home."

"We're at a point where, especially in medicine, we're now starting to realize the importance of the cultural aspects of people's illnesses," he says. "Being from the same cultural background does put me at an advantage compared to my peers, but it has also made me rethink my definition of illness. A patient is more than biology and physiology. We try to look at the context of the patient as a whole, because sometimes, to the patient, cultural and socioeconomic issues are even more important than the illness."

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Washington Heights Natives Return to Study Medicine and Give Back to the Community

When he was a student at the College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S) at Columbia University, Carlos Rodriguez would walk from 168th Street, where he spent most of his days and nights studying, to visit his mother on 193rd Street. The walk was cathartic and reminded him that "having [a] conne...

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