Cuong Lieu

Cuong grew up in the inner city, in Oakland, California. His father’s salary as a janitor was insufficient to cover his mother’s medical costs, so he frequently had to abandon school for extended periods of time to earn money for her care. He understands from his own experience how poverty and health care cannot be addressed independent of one another. Cuong is a member of a team of 50 students who maintain and operate a student­run free clinic in Tijuana in conjunction with medical professionals. He was selected to participate in a premed summer program at Stanford to prepare underprivileged students who aspire to become the future generation of physicians. He says, “I believe that my personal experience helped to shape and develop me as a person, allowing me the courage to face adversity and overcome it, and inspiring empathy toward the struggle of others.”