Surya Namboodiri is a second-year medical student at The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She graduated from The University of Texas at Dallas with a bachelor’s degree in biology. Her passion for preventative care led her to pursue a master’s degree in health science with a nutrition concentration from UT Rio Grande Valley. A South Texas native, Namboodiri serves as an Area Health Education Center Scholar, focusing on removing health disparities in her local community. This summer she participated in the Graduate Archer Fellowship, where she learned about healthcare policy and how to address health disparities in medically underserved areas.