PROJECT: A sustainable virtual group prenatal care program for pregnant patients at the West Medical Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic (West-Med), providing educational classes accessible to patients in either English or Spanish.

Samantha Garcia is an MD/MBA candidate at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and UCLA Anderson School of Management, completing her education as an L.A. Cares’ Elevating the Safety Net Scholar and Consortium Fellow. She is a part of the UCLA/Charles R. Drew University Medical Education and PRIME-LA Programs, which are shaping her into a future physician leader for under-resourced communities.

Garcia is a proud first-generation student and daughter of an immigrant mother from Mexico and father from Puerto Rico. Her identity has driven her to be actively engaged in the Latino Medical Student Association Western Region, where she serves as Director-Elect. Garcia also enjoys teaching, an interest that stems from her eight years of leading health education programs at St. John’s Community Health, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, and Peer Health Exchange. As a medical student she has merged her interest in teaching and medical education by serving as an anatomy TA, clinical mentor, and tutor for her medical school peers.

Ultimately, Garcia’s goal is to become an OBGYN and combine her medical and business knowledge to improve the overall quality and accessibility of women’s healthcare services for communities made vulnerable.

Garcia earned a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Studies and Master of Science in Global Medicine from the University of Southern California.