McGovern students elected to LMSA regional positions
A trio of McGovern Medical School students have been elected by chapter presidents to regional positions for the Latino Medical Student Association Southwest Region at the organization’s 10th Annual Regional Conference March 11-13 in New Orleans.
Jose E. Barrera, MS2, was named LMSA Southwest Chief Development Officer; while Karla Madrigal, MS1, was elected as LMSA Southwest Policy Chair; and Leandro Lucio III, MS1, is the new LMSA Southwest Public Relations Chair.
Barrera said that as the new chief development officer for the LMSA Southwest region, he is looking forward to recruiting more LMSA chapters from the southwest region at undergraduate medical school institutions.
“This will expand opportunities for aspiring physicians who are under-represented in the health care field to provide more mentorship and networking opportunities,” Barrera said. “The goal in mind is to pay it forward to rising and current Latino medical students by providing them with more resources at the regional level.”
Madrigal’s role as policy chair will allow her to make decisions on policymaking that could have an impact on the future of the health care industry.
“I am really excited to be part of the LMSA Southwest Regional Board as the policy chair,” she said. I am looking forward to immersing myself in health policy and advocacy, as well as sharing the policymaking process with other future physicians. It is very important to have health professionals at the national level making important decisions that affect patient outcomes, which is what I really want to promote in this role.”
For Lucio, the ability to interact with medical students across the southwest is a key aspect in the role of public relations chair.
“I believe that I have what it takes to be the public relations chair for LMSA because I love talking to people and can hold a conversation with anyone,” he said. “It is an honor to be the public relations chair, because it grants me the opportunity to interact and network with medical students across the region. I am very excited to be the LMSA Southwest’s Regional public relations chair and to implement my many ideas to expose our regional committee to a broader audience.”
The Latino Medical Student Association unites and empowers medical students through service, mentorship, and education to advocate for the health of the Latino community. The southwest region of LMSA includes schools in Texas, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma.