My name is Emely Rodriguez and I’m an 18-year-old girl from New York City. I was born and raised in the Bronx by a single mother. My family is from the Dominican Republic and my mother came here alone to start a new life. Living in New York isn’t easy. The experiences I’ve had here made me grow up fast and taught me a lot about life. Growing up as a minority, I encountered many obstacles when it came to my social life and education. Though challenging, these obstacles never set me back, and I used them as fuel to aim for something bigger.

When I was younger I spent a lot of time in the hospital. Being surrounded by a sea of doctors and technology definitely sparked my interest in medicine. My pediatrician always made me feel safe and taken care of. My experience with sickness, along with the people who helped me get through it, was definitely what ignited my passion for medicine. For as long as I can remember, it has been my dream to become a doctor and help heal children who are like me.

In this portfolio, you will find some of the work that shows my growth throughout my first semester in college. There’s a lot that I’ve learned about myself and about the world around me. This semester helped me adopt an entirely different outlook on life.

Currently, I attend the CUNY School of Medicine and am still working on achieving my dreams.

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