After two years of traveling the world as an executive assistant to a Tibetan Lama and two semesters at a Buddhist university in Boulder, Benjamin Medrano decided he wanted a more traditional education. In 2006, 27-year-old Medrano transferred to UC Denver with little idea of what major to pursue.

He soon discovered his love for science and, the following summer, attended a prehealth program through the university. The experience not only set in stone his desire to go to medical school but also helped him see what was possible. “Before that, I still had a lot of doubts because, statistically, it looks really challenging getting in, but based on my connection with that program and my experience, I feel it’s more doable.”

Medrano is no stranger to road blocks. He grew up in a relatively poor family and relocated multiple times to neighborhoods with low-quality schools. He decided to earn his high school diploma through homeschooling. College seemed nearly impossible.

These days, though, the possibilities seem endless. When he’s not in class, working on a cardiovascular disease prevention study or volunteering to interview patients for prostate cancer research, he’s studying—an average of seven hours a day on weekends.

This entry was posted on Thursday, March 13th, 2008 at 9:23 am and is filed under Profiles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.