HARLINGEN — Since middle school, Bianka Martinez has worked hard to make her big dream come true.
Now, she’s headed for medical school at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces.
“This is a dream of mine for a long time,” Martinez, 22, said. “I’m very excited to have this opportunity. It’s going to be challenging.”
In sixth grade at Calvary Christian School, she set her sights on becoming a doctor.
“I’d go into the doctor’s office and I was intrigued,” said Martinez, daughter of Orlando and Eunice Martinez of Harlingen.
“As I got older, I got more interested in health and how to prevent certain diseases.”
In 2012, Martinez was among the top 20 students in her graduating class at Harlingen High School.
At Texas State University, she graduated with a degree in microbiology and a minor in psychology.
After class, she studied six to eight hours a day to help rack up a 3.72 grade-point average.
“The classes were tough — so much tougher than courses I’d taken before. I grew so much as a person,” she said. “You have to immerse yourself in your studies to understand the material.”
So far, she’s picked up her share of hands-on experience.
By 2013, she was shadowing doctors at Valley Baptist Family Practice in Harlingen.
“Those doctors really encouraged me,” she said. “They taught me the practical things about medicine.”
Now, she’s working as a scribe at Rio Grande Regional Hospital’s emergency room in McAllen.
“I learned the other side of medicine — the more emergent side,” she said. “Everything is fast-paced, focused on how to immediately prevent someone’s condition from worsening.”
Now, Martinez plans to work in family practice.
“I’ve gained a passion for serving people and helping guide them to a healthier life,” she said.
“I’ve become aware of the need for physicians to address the emotional, physical and spiritual health of patients.”
