Trizhia Matusalem

It’s not always easy to take a stand to achieve your own dreams, but Trizhia is doing just that. She was accepted into UC San Diego’s Thurgood Marshall College as a Human Biology major following one year at community college. In addition to studying and working 24 hours a week, Trizhia attended numerous virtual shadowing sessions over the summer and learned about medical procedures, how to study patient symptoms, how to rule out possible diseases using test results, and the importance of team-based care. She became a Certified Nursing Assistant, working full time during school breaks to pay tuition. “I looked for more volunteer opportunities and ways to utilize my university’s resources to enrich myself.”

Trizhia moved to the U.S. from the Philippines when she was five. Her father had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. “Because of this, it was difficult for me to understand certain things when I was growing up. Life was extraordinarily unfair. And, in my head, I blamed everything on my dad. But even that didn’t make sense.” This cycle continued until Trizhia started learning about the mechanics behind her father’s disease. “In my biology class, we learned how certain neurotransmitter deficiencies can impact a person. One particular article that caught my eye was the link between schizophrenia and smoking. All of a sudden, things started to click. Ultimately, I aspire to help other families reach the same realization and to erase the stigma behind mental illnesses.”

Trizhia aspires to become a Physician Assistant. She has learned that she can apply the same concept of connections at a whole new level. “Acting as a science investigator, I will be able to use all of my knowledge to create connections and piece together puzzles to ultimately save someone’s life through diagnoses, fulfilling someone else’s quality of life and my own as well.”