Cynthia Solorio grew up in San Jose, CA. She grew up with three younger sisters and her parents. She was considered a low-income student and her experience seeing people in her community and at home not having access to healthcare is what propelled her interest in medicine. She attends University of California, Berkeley and is majoring in Molecular and Cell Biology with a concentration in Neurobiology and a minor in Toxicology. Cynthia is applying to medical school as she starts her junior year of undergrad.

Cynthia aspires to become a neurosurgeon or neurologist in California. She hopes to pursue research in Alzheimer’s and other diseases that compromise cognitive abilities. She also wants to give back to her community as a future doctor by working alongside Bay Area non-profits to to provide pro-bono treatments. She believes in making healthcare more accessible to those who are often excluded for being low-income, underrepresented, and undocumented.

Cynthia has volunteered with Operation Access, which provides medical procedures to under-represented and low-income residents in the Bay Area. She mainly volunteers by processing patient referrals, screening them for eligibility, and has recently begun Spanish interpretation for patients on their surgery days.

As a Dream SF Fellow, Cynthia is placed with Mission Graduates. She will work on the Parent Partner Program to promote academic success for K-12 students in San Francisco. As a first-generation college student, Cynthia hopes to learn how to help address the needs of her community by promoting higher education.

In her free time Cynthia enjoys playing with her cats, Veggie and Frosty, running, hiking, and participating in Cal Spirit. Some of her favorite activities involving Cal Spirit include firing the victory cannon and partaking in spellouts at football games.