When
Mario Cruz '00 came to Union four years ago, he wasn't sure that he
wanted to be a doctor. But after internships in other fields, Cruz chose
medicine, and now he is the first Union student in a new program that
enables him to gain early admission to Albany Medical College.
Like many freshmen, Cruz took a variety of courses
during his first year at Union, and he quickly developed an interest in
politics. But an internship in New York City with a friend of a Union
professor convinced him that political life wasn't right for him.
He followed up that internship with one at a large
organization of public hospitals, but quickly concluded that he wouldn't
choose health administration either. “I realized that I am more of a
people person,” he says. “That experience confirmed my decision
to become a doctor.”
Returning to Union, Cruz applied for the new early
assurance program at Albany Medical College. The program enables
underrepresented minorities like Cruz, who is Puerto Rican, to apply to
the medical school during their sophomore years. Cruz was accepted, and
has had to maintain at least a 3.2 G.P.A. in all subjects to remain in the
program. When Cruz graduates from Union in June, he will begin four years
of study at Albany Medical College.