ECHS freshman Serenity Ruiz selected to attend Congress of Future Medical Leaders

ECHS freshman Serenity Ruiz will attend the Congress of Future Medical Leaders this summer in Massachusetts after being chosen to participate in the honors-only program for high school students.

This June, Serenity will join select high school students from across the country who want to become doctors or go into medical research and learn about the career paths they can soon take. She said finding out she was selected for the unique experience felt personal.

“I was really happy, like I was in tears. My mom was in tears. Everyone was in tears,” Serenity said. “It was exciting because it's not even in Texas, it's in Boston. So they really wanted to reach out to me. That's why it felt very personal.”

She and other students attending the three-day event will hear from Nobel Laureates, and the National Medal of Science recipients will discuss leading medical research. She will receive advice from Ivy League and top medical school deans on what to expect in medical school, hear from patients considered “medical miracles,” and learn about advances and the future of medicine and medical technology.

“It's kind of surreal. I didn't even think I would be able to do this and have the strength to do this, because I'm going to be staying on their campus. I opted to stay on their campus. So I'll get to see what college is really about, and if I really do want to pursue science,” Serenity said.

Serenity was chosen to attend and represent Texas based on her academic achievement, leadership potential, and determination to serve humanity in the medical field. Right now she would like to study science and become a biochemist, or maybe a veterinarian. 

“I want to see myself in a white coat, working with a microscope. That’s just something that I want to do. It really interests me to be a scientist,” she said. 

She traced her interest in science back to her seventh-grade science class at Del Valle Middle School, where she was introduced to biology. Her curiosity has only grown, and she’s in the early courses of the Career Technical Education (CTE) health science pathway that will lead her to a clinical medical assistant certification.

“I was supposed to leave the district last year. But I didn’t want to, I really did want to stay because they have a really good health program. Like, you can become a medical assistant, a phlebotomist, and stuff,” Serenity said.

“It's giving me a lot of opportunities to venture out into different careers in science, because I know they have an aquatics class, I know they have forensics. I want to take that. But they have a lot of opportunities here for me to flourish with my learning.”

Although she’s a freshman and has three years ahead of her in high school, Serenity is clear on what she wants to do with the remainder of her time in the DV ECHS.

“I'm looking to get internships, whether I stay in medicine or not. I want internships and my main goal out of high school is to get a full ride to a college, that's what I really want,” she said. “My dream college is Princeton.”