Sofia Victoria Campos

Inspired by the neurocognitive impairments her grandfather suffered as a result of vascular illness, and his incredible recovery, Sofia studied the mind at the Department of Cognitive Science at University of California, San Diego. This interdisciplinary training focused on developing skills such as computer programming, research in neuroscience, as well as a foundation in chemistry and biology. The vast variable interdisciplinary approach to investigating the human body is a viewpoints perspective that Sofia holds true to today. 

The Department of Cognitive Science provided unique experience, diverse skills, to create diverse teams to approach complicated problems from unique perspectives. Many of her peers moved on to start companies, be team leads for large investment firms, but the underlying inspiration was how to cure an expert team and support their development to produce unique outcomes. 

Sofia took this idea to the University of Illinois at Chicago, where is she was a Clinical Research Coordinator and Care Coordinator supporting a small team of community health workers. Her team was diverse in life experience, in educational status, income bracket, and personality. She found so much joy in getting to know the members of her team, their unique skills, and their aspirations and goals. Doing this work, and having productive numbers every month, fueled the desire to continue to work on an interdisciplinary team. 

This leadership looked a little bit different in medical school as the pre-clinical years do not have a team structure, but every person is learning at the same rate and pace. To encourage collaboration, support and productivity Sofia worked as the member of the Student Diversity Advisory Committee. Here Sofia could listen to the concerns of her peers, understand the limitations of the structure of the system, and work with passionate individuals to curate unique goals and solutions. Some of those included access to university building after hours to support student studying, making videos to disseminate information about the medical school application process, and provide resources and information about disability accommodation request for medical students. 

Sofia Victoria is a medical student and physician doctoral candidate at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Tucson. With aspirations to become an otolaryngologist, Sofia is a current member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery and Latino Medical Student Association