It seems an act of fate that Michele Gomez is the 1997 recipient of the Edilberto Antonio Rodriguez award. Like Rodriguez, Gomez has demonstrated a commitment to providing health care to underserved populations, despite significant obstacles. And Gomez’s father, like Rodriguez, struggled to get an education and a better life for his family but never forgot his roots in the Latino community.

Michele Gomez Photo by Chris T. Anderson

“He [Rodriguez] sounds similar in some ways to my father, who grew up in a low-income, single-parent family in Louisiana, himself a first generation Mexican-American,” Gomez wrote in her personal statement. “It is hard to know me without knowing something about my father’s influence on my life.”

Since 1989, the award has been given to the UCSF medical student who best exemplifies the qualities of Rodriguez, a graduate of the medical school and a former resident at UCSF. Gomez was selected for such attributes as overcoming personal adversity, a commitment to serve needy communities and her inspirational moral and professional standards.

“While I never felt that I mirrored the attributes of Dr. Rodriguez, I hope to continue along in his direction,” says Gomez. I admire people like him and find him an inspiration.”

Gomez has overcome both physical and economic adversity in her pursuit of a medical degree. Five years ago, while a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon, Central Africa, she was injured in a motorcycle accident and, as a result, had her left leg amputated below the knee. Consequently, she suffers from a neuroma, which causes her significant discomfort after long periods of standing. In addition to facing a physical challenge, Gomez is financing her own medical education, and in the process is accruing a debt of more than $100,000. But these are not obstacles for Gomez. She is on a five-year medical school program to compensate for potential physical limitations and is applying for scholarships, like the Rodriguez award, to help pay for her education.

Gomez’s disability did not discourage her from pursuing a career in medicine; if anything, it enhanced her desire to be a physician. “I was taken such good care of after my injury,” she says. “When I returned from Cameroon I was so much more aware of people with disabilities and how incredibly different my course was after my injury compared to people in third-world countries.”

This disparity in health care was of interest to Gomez long before she went to Cameroon, where she educated people about health issues, including AIDS. As a child she traveled to impoverished countries with her family and saw children her own age suffering because they did not have access to adequate health care. “In Cameroon I’d see kids dying from diarrhea and things we can’t even imagine here,” Gomez says. “I really appreciate the medical care we have in this country and I want to be a part of it.”

Gomez has demonstrated her commitment to underserved communities by volunteering at a UCSF student-run homeless clinic and coordinating the Mission Neighborhood Health Fair last year. Gomez has a long history of public service -- while majoring in urban affairs and completing requirements for medical school at Princeton University, she founded a home for pregnant teens.

Gomez has received numerous awards -- she was selected to go to the American Medical Student Association’s Political Leadership Institute this year; she received a 1996 Foundation for Science and Disability Scholarship and a 1995 UCSF student research fellowship; and in 1987 and 1988 she was a National Hispanic Scholar.

Before entering the Peace Corps, Gomez worked for the United Way of America, raising and distributing funds for local health and social service agencies. She is now focusing some of her scarce time on disability rights, specifically addressing the issues of disabled medical students at UCSF.

Despite the physical demands and economic limitations of a career in community health, Gomez says, ideally she wants to work in the predominately Hispanic Mission District. “As I get older I want to feel that connection with my heritage,” Gomez says. “And as my father gets older it’s important to him that one of his children makes that connection to the community.”

By Paula Murphy

1st appeared 09/16/97