Cutting meat at his grocery store job one day, then 19-year-old Paul Patlan had a realization. “I was like, if I don't do something, this is going to be my life and I'm never going to be able to give my children the childhood that I always wanted,” recalled Patlan...

Beginning medical school during the pandemic, UCR SOM class of 2025 graduate Jennifer Pinal studied in a cramped back house with no air conditioning, repurposing second-hand furniture to create a makeshift study space. As a single mother, she balanced medical school with her kids’ Zoom classes, grocery runs, and keeping...