Henzee Machado

What is your major and envisioned career path?

I'm a biology major and plan to go to medical school. I chose biology just because I really liked it in high school. It's a class that I found interesting, and I was always engaged in it, and I was also pretty good at it. I also took anatomy, which also gave me some insight into the kind of career I wanted to go into because both deal with similar topics. Both took me in the direction of pursuing a career in medicine. Currently, I'm thinking of taking a gap year just to get more clinical shadowing hours and do medical scribing for a little bit just to get more insight into what it's actually like to be a doctor day to day life.

Tell us about SACNAS at VCU.

I’m one of the co-presidents of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). Our mission is to empower historically underrepresented students in Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) here on campus. Currently, our biggest events would be our networking events, which would be our cafecitos, which is when we invite STEM professionals to talk about their journey in STEM, how they got there, and any advice they have for current students interested in pursing a similar career path. We also do professional development events as well as social events to help foster a community here on campus so that students feel supported and not scared to  pursue a career in STEM. We recently submitted our application to become a formally recognized chapter, which is exciting!  It’s really gratifying to see our vision come to fruition, which is to establish an organization at VCU that will always provide a space for historically underrepresented students to be heard and supported as they pursue their desired careers.

Why did you come to VCU to study biology?

I wanted to come to VCU because its a diverse university. I grew up in a small town in Virginia that was not very diverse, so I wanted to get out and just grow as a person.

What are you passionate about?

I'm passionate about helping the community. Growing up I was always translating for my mom at the doctor's office because she did not know English. I grew up in a  town in Virginia  where there just weren't a lot of people that looked like me. These experiences growing up motivated me to pursue a career in medicine because I want to be that person that can help and be there for the Latinx community at the doctor's office, which can help overcome that stigma of not really trusting medicine.