My road in life has been direct.
I was born and raised on the Navajo Nation reservation in Arizona.
I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do for a career, but I knew that I wanted to help my community.
I played basketball growing up, and was able to afford college through a basketball scholarship.
After graduating, I went on to earn my master’s degree in health administration and health policy.
It took several attempts, but I was accepted into medical school at Nova Southeastern University in Davie, Florida.
I did most of my clerkships in Miami, Florida, then did a family medicine internship in South Hampton, New York, and completed the final years of my residency in New Jersey.
I returned home and got a job as a doctor at the same hospital—which is now an outpatient facility—where I was born.