My name is Nelva Perales, Class of 2016 graduate from Hoover High School and FACES San Diego. I will be an upcoming freshman at University of California, Irvine this Fall 2016 where I aspire to major in microbiology. The FACES San Diego program helped me narrow and find the field in medicine that I want to pursue. Through their community internships at Planned Parenthood as a high school junior, I was able to conclude that I want to work with women’s health. The hospital rotations in Scripps Mercy Hospital and Rady Children’s Hospital, as a high school senior have inspired me to work in global health and commit part of my life to working on research focused on infectious diseases and STD prevention. Thanks to the FACES program and their guidance, I was able to apply to fifty scholarships and win $33,000 towards my undergraduate education, which I could not have accomplished on my own.
My future goals are to attend medical school and become a gynecologist. Also, I want to work as a microbiologist around the world as a global health provider. The FACES program has changed my life and opportunities and I hope that in the near future I can give back to this program which I call my family.