Juliana Gutierrez, a fourth-year medical student in the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine, was presented with the 2013 Graduate Student Status of Latinos (SOL) Award as part of the USF Hispanic Heritage Kickoff reception held Oct. 2.
Gutierrez earned the award for work with the Hispanic community and members of underserved communities, such as her work at the BRIDGE Clinic, where she is co-director. The BRIDGE Clinic, a student-directed clinic, serves medically indigent patients who would likely not otherwise receive health care. In addition, she volunteers to work with a 70-person medical team in the Dominican Republic as part of Project World Health, and conducts breast cancer research in minority groups through the Moffitt Cancer Center at Puerto Rico.
In his nomination of Gutierrez, Eduardo C. Gonzalez, MD, FAAFP, associate professor of family medicine in the Morsani College of Medicine and co-faculty director of the BRIDGE Clinic, cited her work and drive to help: “No matter what the setting, whether in a small urban clinic, or a one room shack in a mountain village, Juliana has demonstrated herself to be a compassionate, driven, and capable medical student and future physician.”
The Status of Latinos (SOL) Committee is a Presidential Advisory Committee responsible for advising the USF President on matters affecting Latino faculty, staff and students of the University. The SOL Committee is also responsible for advising the USF President regarding the University’s relationship with the Latino community.