Get to know our Meaningful Journey Scholarship recipients

Why did Theresa decide to pursue becoming a physician?

Growing up as a daughter of Vietnamese refugees, I was mainly responsible for translating and taking care of my parents, especially in settings where they were extremely vulnerable, such as banks and health care settings. My first exposure to medicine was in high school when my mom was unexpectedly hospitalized with abdomen pain and ultimately was diagnosed as a ovarian cyst and needed immediate surgery. It was during this time that I got to see the disparities that inhibit vulnerable populations, like my mom, from receiving proper and equitable healthcare. I distinctly remember the intersections of barriers that made equitable healthcare so challenging for my mom--- they were presented in the form of cultural, language, and financial barriers. I had another déjà vu moment in my sophomore year of college when my dad was unexpectedly hospitalized and required an emergent toe amputation. Similar to my high school experience, this experience was met with the same barriers that inhibited my mom from receiving proper healthcare. During this experience, due to cultural and language barriers, my dad was actually misdiagnosed with the flu which led to his delay in care, resulting in his toe amputation. Both of these experiences solidified my passion for going into medicine because it is my goal to be able use my personal experiences to serve as a catalyst of change for vulnerable patients, like my parents, and communities similar to mine. It is my goal to be able to serve underrepresented populations and advocate for vulnerable patient populations to reach their health goals.

What is Theresa most passionate about when it comes to a future career in medicine?

I’m still currently undecided on what specialty I want to pursue (most likely Oncology or Internal Medicine), but my ultimate goal is to be able to work with underrepresented communities (specifically in urban, underserved areas) and be able to advocate for patients in meaningful ways so they are able to reach their health goals. I hope that my future patients will see me as a compassionate provider that works to meet their needs and dissipate the barriers that inhibit them from reaching their health goals.

What have been the biggest challenges Theresa has faced along the journey?

I’m a first-generation college graduate and first in my family to attend medical school! While this is an incredible honor, one of the biggest challenges in this journey has been navigating higher education and carving my path in medicine. I would say that one of the biggest challenges that I’ve had to face in this journey was during my sophomore year of college when my dad was hospitalized. During that time, my dad worked as a self-employed Missions Food merchandiser, and during his hospitalization, I took over his job while remaining as a full time student with classes including Organic Chemistry, Cell Biology, and Accounting and Finance. This was definitely the hardest time in my life because my responsibilities of being a daughter and caring for my family conflicted with my personal goals of attaining higher education. I think that this moment was an important defining moment in my life because it taught me to recognize my strengths of compassion and resiliency, while challenging and teaching me to know when to ask for help. I recognized during this time that medicine is collaborative field, and in order to get through the hardest times, it is necessary to find support to get there.

What have been the biggest personal triumphs Theresa has accomplished?

The biggest triumph that I’m proud of is being a first-generation college graduate and first in my family to attend medical school!

From a community aspect, I spent all four years of my undergrad working at Sun Valley Youth Center, a safe-haven for inner-city youth located in the poorest zip code in all of Colorado. Here, I developed a Healthy Lifestyles program that was funded by the City of Denver, which focused on marijuana awareness. However, the program shifted to focusing on life skills such as teamwork, thoughtful decision-making, and even reading comprehension, as most of my middle schoolers were reading at a second-grade level. This program proved a success because through state benchmark testing, the students in this program were scoring at the level of their expected profiency by the end of the year. In addition, I also developed a cycling program at the youth center to encourage a healthy outlet for students to work through their trauma. Our work was recognized by the Greenhouse Scholars Program, where my students and I were invited to participate in Venus de Miles, the biggest all-women cycling marathon!

Outside of medicine, what brings Theresa the most joy in life?

I love an adventure! Whether its hiking the Rocky Mountains (I’m a Coloradoan! 😊), cruising around on my longboard, or pickle-balling with friends, I am happiest when I get to try something new and spend time with my family and friends. Also, I have a jack-russel chihuahua (ChuChu) that is two years old back home in Colorado that I trained to be bilingual (he understands both English and Vietnamese!)