Latino medical students graduate with full scholarships to serve low-income communities

On Tuesday, L.A. Care Health Plan held a white coat ceremony for its 2025 Los Angeles Care scholars. All of the eight recipients are part of the Elevating the Safety Net (ESN) program, which provides full medical school scholarships to diverse students who are passionate about serving low-income communities.

Now in its eighth year, the program covers the cost of medical school in full, granting almost $500,000 per student. ESN removes financial barriers that prevent talented, mission-driven students from becoming doctors and supports a pipeline of providers ready to deliver culturally sensitive, community-rooted care. 

Los Angeles County is experiencing a physician shortage that affects health care for vulnerable and low-income communities. According to the California Health Care Foundation, about 11.4 million Californians live in a federally designated Primary Care Health professional shortage area and with the enactment of H.R. 1, which includes student loan caps among other provisions, the physician shortage will only become greater.

To address this crisis, L.A. Care launched ESN in 2018, in hopes of alleviating the physician shortage, especially in Latino communities. Since its inception, it has awarded 64 scholarships to students attending the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science.

“The need for primary care providers who reflect the communities they serve is now greater than ever, and this scholarship is not only life-changing for these students but also for the patients they will one day serve,” said Martha Santana-Chin, L.A. Care CEO. “We’re proud to be able to provide local students the opportunity to make their medical school dreams come true. We look forward to the day they join the 23 ESN scholars who have graduated from medical school, are currently completing their residency programs, and will soon come back to serve the communities who helped them along the way.”

Jessica Perez Liliana Porras is a first-generation Latina raised in a working-class immigrant family who grew up in Lennox. For her, it's really important to go back to her community and serve the Latinx population. 

"A lot of my neighbors, including relatives, are undocumented and they don't have much access to health care because of their status,” she said. “In today's political climate, a lot of people who are undocumented have a fear of getting the help that they need.

Porras has also witnessed the challenges her parents faced in navigating the healthcare system, from lack of insurance to language and cultural barriers. These formative experiences sparked her passion for medicine and her commitment to becoming a physician who advocates for those who are too often overlooked. She will now be attending Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science.

“Growing up, I was a Spanish interpreter for my parents. I would go to emergency room appointments. I would talk with insurance companies on their behalf, so because of them I navigated the health care system through their lens, and because of that I would love to continue helping the immigrant population,” Porras said.

Jorge Roberto Porras, father of Jessica, said that he feels very proud to have a daughter and he thanked God for giving her the opportunity to succeed in her career.

“I am very grateful to my family for supporting my daughter. I also want to thank my daughter for being an example to my children and the community. She gives me a lot of strength to keep working and keep helping her in any way I can. She will always find moral support in me,” he said.

Porras shared advice for any Latina or Latino who is interested in going into medicine: “Just go for it, reach out to mentors, talk to people, and don't be afraid to ask the wrong questions,” she said. 

Wendy Perez is another medical student with experiences that have fueled her desire to pursue primary care, also in underserved communities. She is committed to improving access to care for immigrant, Latinx, and low-income families in Los Angeles and aspires to be a physician who uplifts marginalized voices.

“Getting here took a lot of work and I know it's so difficult, especially for Latina women. I think there's only 2% in the whole country. So getting here was difficult, but again, not impossible. I think what really helped me and what I would recommend to other Latina women is to seek mentorship. I would not be here without my mentors,” Perez said.

She also shared that she witnessed firsthand how difficult it was for her parents to access a primary care provider who speaks their language and understands their struggles and the Latino culture itself. “Primary care is a great field where I can make the biggest difference and impact in our communities,” Perez said.

Her ultimate goal is to advocate for structural changes in healthcare, whether that means expanding access, addressing language and cultural barriers, or mentoring the next generation of underrepresented students in medicine. Wendy will now be attending the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

“This continued partnership plays an important role in preparing and empowering the next generation of physicians to serve in areas with the greatest medical need,” said Steven Dubinett, MD, dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “The L.A. Care Elevating the Safety Net Scholarship is a powerful investment in our students, our institution, and the health of our Los Angeles community.”

Jessi Cristobal Jeronimo Ruiz, an incoming student also at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, emphasized the importance of never giving up on one’s dreams. When he received the email informing him that he had been awarded a full scholarship to medical school, he was in disbelief, but the excitement quickly set in. He immediately called his friends and family to share the life-changing news.

“It's just such an amazing feeling to not have to be half a million dollars in debt for medical school and it's something that I never thought would be possible for me because of my upbringing. I thought these kinds of scholarships were reserved for people from affluent families, but now I know that thanks to the scholarship, my dream will come true,” he shared.

Ruiz told CALÓ News that he grew up in a small pueblo in Oaxaca, where the only access to medical care was through a curandero, which is a traditional healer. He was deeply impressed by their ability to treat people despite having limited knowledge of Western medicine.

When he moved to Los Angeles, he witnessed how his family was struggling to access healthcare and that motivated him to want to become a physician in the community who speaks Spanish.

“My mom and I would take the bus to come down here to Einstein Pediatric Center just so we could see Doctor Lopez. He was the only pediatrician that my mom trusted, but thanks to L.A. Care, I was able to receive the healthcare that I needed throughout my years growing up in Los Angeles,” he said.

Unfortunately, due to the current political climate, Ruiz’s parents could not attend the White Coat ceremony, as they decided to move back to their pueblo in 2019 because they “didn't feel welcome in this country anymore.”

“Throughout their years in LA, they were able to save up some money, and now they're kind of living off their savings, and I'm actually happier for them because over there it's a smaller community of around 1,000 people, so everybody knows each other,” he said. “There's a lot of social stimulation compared to here, where they were working two jobs each and we rarely saw them. Now I can see that they were struggling to get through, but they are happier now.”

Ruiz shared that he feels deeply grateful and privileged to have grown up with parents who never stopped believing in him. Their unwavering support, he said, gave him the strength to pursue his dreams. He remembers them saying they didn’t mind working two jobs for so many years because every long shift, every sacrifice, was worth it if it meant seeing him succeed.

“I finally made it and I'll be the first doctor and physician in my family,” he said.