by David Johnson on 2015-08-31
Alexander Soto’s dream is to become a physician and help people who live in blighted, impoverished areas where life barriers are plentiful, and where quality healthcare often feels unobtainable.
It’s something he knows about all too well from his youth.
A biochemistry major entering his senior year at Cal State San Bernardino, Soto’s childhood memories are filled with recollections of living in small homes with anywhere from eight to 12 people, of an absent father he has not seen since the age of four.
Also, of seeing male figures in his life being either drug dealers or gang members, and of all of his maternal uncles dead, jailed or deported because of gang activity or involvement with drugs.
It was a life where he found peace by going to school and playing sports, and now he wants to give back to help others.
“I find joy and happiness in others’ satisfaction and great health,” Soto said. “I find it an integral part of my process towards life's happiness to invest all my time, energy and knowledge into those who are suffering and simply want to be cared for. Coming from a community and family background of limited resources, I would like to eventually work in an under-served area, placing me in the forefront of serving those who need it most.”
Soto, who grew up in Duarte before moving to Hesperia, received a boost of encouragement and support for his dream, along with a $6,000 scholarship as a 2015 California State University Trustees TELACU Scholar.
Soto is one of 23 students from the CSU system who will be awarded scholarships varying from $6,000 to $12,000 and honored at the CSU Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 8.
Since its inception in 1984, the CSU has honored nearly 300 students with the trustee awards, which provides students with scholarships based on superior academic achievements, financial need, excellence in community service and personal hardship.
This year’s recipients have overcome challenges, including alcoholism, abuse, disability, homelessness, addiction, life-threatening illness, poverty and abandonment, and have become leaders on their campuses among their classmates and communities.
The East Los Angeles Community Union (TELACU) is a nonprofit community development corporation founded in 1968 for the purpose of serving disadvantaged communities in Eastside, Los Angeles through economic development.
In 1983, TELACU established its Education Foundation in response to crisis-level dropout rates for Latino students in college.
The community group recognized that socioeconomic factors of family responsibility, cultural identity and financial stress create very real conflicting challenges to academic life for first-generation students.
In response, the TELACU Scholar is a first-generation student who achieves academic success and shows professional promise.
Soto, who is a first-generation Mexican-American, grew into his role as a student.
“I was never a great student; I often struggled to read and write; thus, leading to self-doubt,” Soto said. “Throughout my education, the lack of self-confidence from an early age persisted even as I graduated from high school and as I progressed through the early years of my college education.”
Soto attended community college, but said his life changed when he transferred to Cal State San Bernardino in the fall of 2012.
“I was inspired to finally be at a university,” Soto said. “I witnessed others pursuing their passion and felt that the only way I could be happy was through the pursuit of my own passion.”
Soto had the opportunity to further his interest in medicine while participating in the UCLA Pre-Medical Enrichment Program (PREP) at the David Geffen School of Medicine.
Through relationships, he established in PREP, he was able to volunteer with Healing Hearts Across the Borders where he helped set up a clinic and deliver medical care to those living in the poorest areas of Tijuana, Mexico.
Soto, who has a 3.6 G.P.A., serves as an adjunct general chemistry instructor for the CSUSB Student Assistance in Learning Program (SAIL) and a peer mentor for the Health Professions Advising Center.
He is also in his third year as a member of the executive board for the Medical and Pre-Health Student Society (MAPSS), where he helps organize an annual conference to provide opportunities and empower students in an effort to raise awareness and increase the number of healthcare leaders in the Inland Empire.
“The conference highlights the need in our community and has served more than 1,000 pre-health students from all over California, connecting them to deans of admission, health professionals, scholarships and internships from institutions like the UCLA School of Medicine, UC San Francisco School of Physical Therapy, the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and many more,” Soto said.
“My eagerness to learn, my compassion towards others, my relentless work ethic, and my will to seek the best for those who suffer, has urged me to choose a career as a physician,” Soto said.