Cathya Mendoza

HOLY NAMES UNIVERSITY | HEAL, HIGHLAND HOSPITAL

We are all fighting for our future.

Programs like HEAL set students on the path without the need for money. You could be a student who is super rich or super poor and still have the same opportunities. We are driven by the same desires.

I was born in Mexico. I came to the United States when I was 7 years old, straight to Oakland. Now I am 19. The reason I am in college right now is because of this internship. HEAL gave me that push to be able to network and start speaking with professionals and different people. I was a very closed-off person, always super shy, not confident of my English.

I am now a biology major at Holy Names University, hoping to go straight to medical school and then come back and work for Highland Hospital, the internship program, and do a residency here. There’s just this amazing, synchronized unity of this team coalescing to take care of another person. I see myself as part of the team.

I see myself as a surgeon, something I really am passionate about. I think it is because of my mom. I tend to try to help others. I’m the person who tries to bring people together to work.

I have a lot of family. They’re not blood family, but my mom has friends that she adopted so they kind of became our family. I have a huge support system, and with HealthPATH mentors, I have a bunch of cheerleaders in my corner.

The reason I am here right now is because of this internship.