Against all odds, she’s chasing the dream to become a doctor

Written by: Sophia da Silva 🇧🇷

Headshot of Daisy Navarro. (Emelyn Gomez)

Daisy Navarro has known that she wanted to be a doctor for a long time, but as the first in her family to attend college, she struggled to know how to get there.

“I had some sense of what I could do, but it was just difficult knowing what resources are out there as first-gen,” Navarro said.

Navarro was accepted to several of the 31 colleges that she applied to in high school but didn’t have the money to attend any of them and ended up going to Prince George’s Community College.

“That was an opportunity to figure out what I wanted to do and figure out, you know, like how badly I wanted to do it,” Navarro said.

In Navarro’s senior year of high school, her father underwent emergency open-heart surgery.

“I just remember I came home from high school and I was like, ‘Hm, I wonder if they're working late or something.’ No, no, they were at the hospital,” Navarro said.

It was a time she felt her strength tested. 

“Strength isn't just physical, it's also very mental, and it's just the power to push through what comes your way,” Navarro said.

Soon after, Navarro’s mental health suffered. She found it hard to continue her college applications and schoolwork, and was at risk of being dropped from her academic program.

“They never asked ’Why are you struggling so much?’” Navarro said. “I felt like there was nobody out there to help.” 

Community college was a fresh start to build the healthy habits that she lacked in high school. It was a place where Navarro felt supported and uplifted in her academic goals, leading her to become the speaker at her graduation from PGCC.

“I put myself first instead of my studies, and in doing so, I feel like I excelled,” she said.

Photo of the Navarro Family. (Courtesy of Daisy Navarro)

Navarro came to the University of Maryland as a junior. It felt intimidating and isolating for her, especially as one of the few other Latine students in her classes.

“It's just so difficult to be able to find someone who can relate to you on a deeper level, and I think that at UMD, which is a PWI, it’s so easy to feel lost,” Navarro said.

There have been many times Navarro felt the need to prove herself in comparison to her white peers. 

“It was more motivation, like, I don't know why you think that I don't belong here, but I very much belong here. I'm smart. I'm here for a reason,” Navarro said.

Navarro joined Latine student organizations on campus and found relief in people that she didn’t need to prove herself to.

“It doesn't make me feel as isolated as I did anymore because it just makes me feel like I have a little bubble of the people who understand me and the people who have gone through the same thing as me,” she said.