The cultural roots of medical care
The cultural roots of medical care
- May 1, 2026
- Carolina Silva, UC Irvine class of 2026, pursues pre-med with a double major in Chicano/Latino studies and public health
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Carolina Silva was just nine years old when she decided what she wanted to do with
her life. While delivering hygiene products and homemade tortas to unhoused individuals in San Jose, California, she had a pivotal conversation with
a young woman who needed medical attention for a potentially dangerous hernia. But
without health insurance or a home, the woman was so afraid of being judged or mistreated
by staff, that she refused to go to the hospital. Silva set her sights on becoming
a different kind of doctor.
“One day, I hope to have my own pro bono clinic for unhoused individuals and those without a means of affording healthcare,” Silva says. “I want to be able to provide a bridge to health equity for those who experience health disparities."
That dream brought Silva to UC Irvine, where she is now a pre-med student pursuing what may, at first glance, seem a surprising double major: Chicano/Latino studies in the School of Social Sciences, and public health in the Joe C. Wen School of Population and Public Health.
“UC Irvine creates space for students to integrate cultural understanding, community engagement, and academic preparation in a way that is not always possible elsewhere,” says Lena M. Njoku, director of the UC PRIME Pre-Health Pathways program that Silva participates in. “Carolina has fully leaned into that, pairing Chicano/Latino studies with public health and pre-med to ground her future practice in both knowledge and lived context.”
Strengthening her roots
Silva discovered her passion for social sciences the summer after she finished high school, taking a Summer Bridge course in Chicano/Mexican American studies at San Jose City College.
“That's where my whole life changed,” Silva says. “Through Chicano/Latino studies, I participated in a lot of service to underserved communities, both through on-campus and off-campus organizations. And because my goal is to pursue medicine, I realized it’s a perfect way to kind of combine a focus on healthcare and the community I wish to serve one day.”
Silva still wanted to pursue medicine, though, and believed the only path was to major in biological sciences. But when talking to students at a Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) conference, she was surprised to learn that her interest in underrepresented and Indigenous communities might be a better fit for public health – and she could still be pre-med.
In the Department of Chicano/Latino Studies, some of Silva’s favorite courses have deepened her understanding of the intersection of health and culture, including Undocumented Immigrant Experiences, Critical Latinx Indigeneities, and Medical Anthropology.
“I see these courses as a way for me to learn more about my roots and how I can strengthen that to better relate to the community I want to work with,” Silva says. “Science and ethnic studies create a balance for me, because you need to have both perspectives to be able to truly understand medicine.”
These courses have also shed light on her own family’s experiences with healthcare. For example, the medical anthropology course highlighted the importance of cultural understanding when healthcare practitioners recommend dietary changes to manage conditions like diabetes – which is something Silva has witnessed first-hand in doctor visits with her own loved ones.
Advancing health equity
During Silva’s first weeks at UCI, she celebrated National Latino Physicians Day by participating in a campus march with other future doctors. She felt encouraged being surrounded with others with similar life experiences who were pursuing medicine, and she was energized by the slogan “6% is not enough,” which refers to the fraction of U.S. doctors who are Latino, while they represent about one-third of the population.
That day, she learned about UC PRIME Pre-health Pathways (UC3P), which supports first-generation students pursuing careers in healthcare. Silva applied to the program and was admitted, opening doors to campus research labs, working in local hospitals, and exploring health programs for underserved communities.
“Carolina represents exactly what we hope to cultivate through UC3P, students who are not only driven in their own journey, but committed to lifting others as they climb,” says Njoku, the program director. “Through her leadership supporting first- and second-year students, and her intentional integration of cultural understanding into her path toward medicine, she is already embodying the kind of thoughtful, community-centered physician our healthcare system needs.”
With other UC3P students, Silva visited Altamed, which provides healthcare to underserved communities in Orange County, and Latino Health Access, a nonprofit health care provider and advocacy group. She also applied to and won a coveted spot as a Cope Health Scholar, which gave her the opportunity to gain hands-on medical experience assisting doctors and nurses at Kaiser Permanente Irvine Medical Center and an urgent care in Santa Ana.
UC3P also connected Silva with campus research opportunities. She now works with Alana LeBron, associate professor of Chicano/Latino studies and health, society, & behavior, who is co-principal investigator of the Inequities of Childhood Life-Course Lead Exposure and Academic and Neurodevelopmental Outcomes (I-Clean) study. Through this project, Silva has helped measure lead levels in children in Santa Ana, California, who may have been exposed to lead contamination in the soil around their homes and schools.
“These experiences further opened my eyes to seeing that health is more than just medicine. It’s also the social determinants of health, public health and health equity,” Silva says. “I'm very grateful for this program because it proved that I was right to want to pursue medicine and also Chicano/Latino studies – together those are my purpose.”
Breaking down structural barriers
In addition to her double major and health outreach through UC3P, Silva is involved with clubs on campus that help support children and college students on their own unique journeys. It’s her way of providing encouragement to others
“When I was young, as a primarily Spanish speaking individual, there were people who expected me to go work at a hotel or become a gardener. Throughout my life, individuals have doubted my capabilities,” Silva says. “I want others to know we can work against those structural barriers.”
As the orphanage coordinator for International Medicine Education & Development (IMED), Silva has coordinated student trips to an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico, where she helps teach the children about Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM). The art in STEAM, she says, is an important way to reach young children and help them see careers in STEM fields as being possible pathways.
Silva also serves on the board for MAES: Latinos in STEM, an organization that she says helped her uncover aspects of the “hidden curriculum” in higher education.
“As first-generation students, there are a lot of things that we don't necessarily know about higher education and academia, and this is a way for me to give back to my peers and also learn from them at the same time,” she says.
When she first arrived at UCI, Silva worried that not following a more traditional pre-med path might harm her future prospects. Eventually, she came to see her unique perspective – both lived experience and academic coursework – as adding to her strength as a future physician. After graduating in June 2026, Silva plans to work in the healthcare field and prepare to take the MCAT, before moving on to the next phase of her medical education.
“I recognize everyone's experiences matter, and everyone's journey is different – you have to learn to value your own journey,” Silva says. “Without the social sciences, I wouldn’t be who I am today.”
-Christine Byrd for UCI Social Sciences
-pictured: Carolina Silva; Silva with two of her UC3P cohort members.
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