By Amy lozano

Undergraduate student and Iraq veteran Sergio Alfaro recently earned admission to eight of the top medical schools in the nation.

Alfaro will take part in the graduation ceremony at the end of this quarter.

The undegraduate student was admitted to Harvard University, Duke University, Stanford University, University of Southern California, UC San Francisco, UC Los Angeles, UC Irvine and the joint UCR/UCLA Thomas Haider Program in Biomedical Science.

Alfaro has decided to attend Harvard University.

According to a recent press release, 27-year-old Alfaro is the seventh of nine children as well as a first-generation college student.

After his military career and service in Iraq, he studied at Riverside Community College before enrolling at UC Riverside.

Alfaro worked as a field medic while serving in the United States Army.

Alfaro said that his parents were a strong driving force in his aspiration to one day become a doctor.

He said that his parents continuously expressed the desire that he would one day become a practicing physician, but the idea of becoming a doctor did not begin to solidify in his mind until later on in life.

Alfaro attended Bell High School and was introduced to the field of medicine through the UC Medical program.

His interest in science was further developed by taking an active interest in sports medicine while in high school.

He said it was after working with student athletes that Alfaro decided to get involved in the field of medicine.

Alfaro said his “this is it” moment to pursue a medical career came to him while he was training in Fort Sam Houston, Texas where he participated in a mock mass casualty situation.

During this mock training session Alfaro was required to treat “patients” for injuries, such as impairments of the eye, collapsed lungs and intestinal evisceration.

Alfaro said that during the session he witnessed medicine’s ability to save lives.

Alfaro chose to major in neuroscience at UC Riverside; a decision, he said, he largely attributes to his experiences while serving in Iraq.

“At UCR, I studied neuroscience to better understand the post-traumatic stress disorder I struggle with from time to time,” said Alfaro in a press release.

“I know now I want to be a physician but to come to this point, I had to do a lot of soul-searching and take baby steps toward achieving the goal I set for myself,” he said.

During his undergraduate career at UC Riverside, Alfaro was also involved in various other organizations, such as the Medical Scholars Program and the Honor Society Gamma Beta Phi.

Alfaro said he has decided to attend Harvard Medical school in the Fall where he hopes to earn his degree in four to five years.

He said that although many factors influenced his decision to attend the prestigious Ivy League school, Harvard’s close proximity to his younger sister who is currently attending Princeton was a deciding factor.

As Alfaro’s accomplishments are being recognized throughout the community—he was recently featured on the popular Spanish news station, Univision—students on campus have also had positive reactions to a fellow Highlander’s accomplishments.

“Not only does it make me proud to be an American but also a UC Riverside student,” said second year psychology major Sarah Ruelas.

“It proves that UCR is in fact a good school and produces excellent scholars,” she said.

“Attending college in itself is an accomplishment and privilege because not everyone is lucky enough to attend, but Sergio’s success story demonstrates that students are capable and should push further in their academic careers,” said first year biology major Jessica Bautista.

Alfaro said his goal is to help as many people as he can.

http://www.highlandernews.org/mobile/news/undergrad-admitted-to-eight-top-institutions-1.1484493

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=1327865&forum_id=1#15145933)