Jose Ramos never gives up.
He learned how to persevere from his mother, who survived breast cancer, and his parents, who worked hard to provide for their family. He managed to stay out of the same trouble—crime and dropping out of school—that afflicted his siblings.
And he is keeping his goal in sight: becoming an MD/PhD.
Ramos, who was the first in his family to graduate high school and college, is currently studying global disease as a master’s student in public health at Columbia University.
He’s not just limiting his efforts to the classroom, either.
In 2016, Ramos earned a fellowship with the Ministry of Health in Cape Town, South Africa.
He also will intern with the Brazilian Health Association in Rio de Janeiro, where he will conduct community-based participatory research in cancer and other chronic diseases.
To boost his preparation for an MD/PhD, he applied for the Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program, which recruits 25 master’s-level students and professionals for a five-day Summer Institute to promote doctoral degrees and careers studying Latino cancer.
“The [Éxito!] summer institute has inspired me to believe in all possibilities,” Ramos said. “I am more than ever convinced that a dual MD/PhD is more than possible. Si se puede!”