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In Their Words
The Face You’ll See in the Future
By Pia Weatheroy
 We
started off as taciturn sophomores, not quite ready and wild, and soon
matured into seniors, very voluble and mild. I recollect the day I saw
Dr. Magaña’s and Dr. Staggers’ beliefs; they were our
branches and we were their leaves.
Boy, do I remember my very first rotation in the playroom with the kids,
doing arts and crafts, making barrettes with the girls and playing board
games by their beds.
Pulmonary Function Lab was my favorite, thanks to Bello, Anne and Mary.
Oh, how I’ll never forget the words I learned; they were quite scary:
mucopolysaccharidosis, cystic fibrosis, diaphoretic, flow volume curves,
aorta, vena cava, and nerves.
Intensive Care Nursery is where my heart skipped beats. There were tiny
configurations of bodies I was dying to meet. Holding one of the babies
to refrain from her cries, at the end of the day I liked going home, but
hated saying bye. There were days when my tears made me blind, nothing
but confusion arose in my mind. I thought to myself, Dr. Weatheroy, how
could you be a healthcare provider when some of the patients just weren’t
survivors? Then I realized it’s heartbreaking, but it’s also
okay—I’ll be bringing lives into the world every day.
I’ll never forget the day I realized I had to go all the way: there
was a social with the college students, med students, residents, doctors
and ourselves. I kept jumping on my friend (so excited I was with the
whole ordeal); I told her it was a journey we were destined to go on and
that we were just beginning to climb the hill. Inspiration is what FACES
has given me, and a chance to explore the health field, for free!!! FACES
is a stepping stone to where I want to be. I won’t stop until I hear,
“Dr. Weatheroy to delivery, we need you now!” That’ll be
the day I’ll sit and think, Wow!!! I really made it! Through the
hard and discouraging days, when I think back I’ll remember FACES
and give nothing but praise.
Thank you Dr. Staggers, Dr. Magaña, the whole FACES staff, and
those of you who believed in our faces.
 Diego García
Diego García’s quiet maturity is grounded in a depth of emotional intelligence not often found in a 17-year-old. Warm and soft-spoken, he discusses his life with eloquence and candor.
“I used to hang around with the wrong crowd,” he states. “I grew up in an environment of violence, drugs, the typical stuff a Latino male teenager is exposed to (in my community). My friends used to steal cars and we would ride around. But I did realize that I didn’t want to be in that company for the rest of my life.”<read more>
 Adia Harrison
Adia’s smile is nervous at first, but soon warms to a friendly, welcoming grin. She’s a drummer in a band called BFC that also features her twin sister, Earnestine. The band “plays the songs of artists [they] like, such as Korn and Papa Roach, just for fun,” explains Adia, declining to indicate what, exactly, BFC stands for. “It was something very cheesy so we abbreviated it to an acronym,” she says mischievously. <read more>
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