Page 25 - 2020 Awards & Recognition

I would like to thank you sincerely for choosing me for the Clem Parsons Memorial Award. To give a little background about myself, I was raised in San Jose, CA and later moved to San Ramon, CA in high school. I attended Oregon State University and majored in microbiology with a minor in chemistry for undergrad.
I settled into a mindset on medicine because of a trip to southern Africa I took where I was exposed to life in and out of the clinic during my 4th year. The experience really made me appreciate everything we have in the US, but also fueled the fire that made me want to serve these neglected populations around the world. While I was in Oregon, I developed a passion for
neglected tropical diseases and alleviating some of the pressures that are experienced worldwide in these populations. I began doing some research on schistosomiasis at the WesternU campus in Lebanon, OR while I was finishing undergrad and got HOOKED! I got to know faculty and students at that campus and fell in love with the student life and WesternU way.
At WesternU, I’ve tried to become very involved in giving back. I have been involved in the Sigma Sigma Phi honors society, Global Health club, Ultrasound club, and Phi Delta Epsilon in order to both gain a network of other providers and excel my understanding on global issues and ways to combat them. I hope to be a critical care doc or infectious disease doctor for a global health organization like Doctors without Borders someday.
This scholarship will help me continue to do my best in my education. Coming from a family where I am the first to pursue a college education, and a medical degree nonetheless, it has been difficult for me to support myself through college. This award will help me to be able to focus on material rather than how I am going to be able to feed myself and pay bills. I want to thank you so much for your continued support of WesternU students in their venture for becoming doctors of the future. We appreciate your support in everything we do.
Best,
Andrew Martinez, DO Class of 2022