Mundo writes, “As a first-generation student who comes from an underrepresented background, being part of the (ARCS) community has been uplifting. Being a medical student during the pandemic has presented unique challenges, but I also think it has prepared me for future challenges in medicine. I have been completing my clinical rotations as a third-year medical student in the Denver Health Longitudinal Clerkship (DH-LIC), which is a special program different than traditional medical education. Instead of doing "block rotations," meaning that I spent a few weeks in each rotation, I have been completing all my rotations at the same time all year. It sounds hectic, but it fits perfectly with my learning style and my learning goals. On top of learning essential clinical skills, my time during the DHLIC has also strengthen my skills and understanding around health equity, health systems, quality improvement, and community engagement/advocacy - areas that traditional medical education (has) not focused on. After going through clinical rotations, I have decided to pursue a career in emergency medicine with the hope of going into academic medicine and research. 

Although my main priority and focus has been my medical studies, I have still made time to continue to be involved in several research initiatives. Most recently, I was able to be on a team that published two articles focused on COVID titled, "Frontline Interdisciplinary Clinicians Perspectives on Caring for Patients with COVID," and "Experiences of Latinx Individuals Hospitalized for COVID." I also had the opportunity to work with some of my surgery preceptors at Denver Health and was the first author of a paper titled, "Providing Access to Affordable Bariatric Surgery for Uninsured Denver County Residents: A Description of a Successful Public Health Initiative." Lastly, I finally had the opportunity to publish my book, From Margins to Medicine: A First-Generation Student Health Equity Guide On Overcoming Adversity with Diversity.  You can find a copy of my book on Amazon or on my website at williammundo.com.”