Star of the Month
Latino Medical Student Association
School of Medicine
Congratulations to our Stars of the Month for April 2025, the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) from the School of Medicine!
LMSA is actively serving our community this year through several impactful initiatives to address health inequities among Latino communities in Baltimore. Most recently in March, LMSA hosted the Know Your Rights Workshop at the School of Medicine to provide key legal resources and information for health professionals supporting immigrant patients, and coupled the workshop with a "Red Card Handout" in the Highlandtown and Greektown neighborhoods distributing cards that details individuals' legal rights for reference when facing interactions with law enforcement. LMSA also plans to work in collaboration with Centro SOL and volunteer to support Latino health and educational opportunities for Latino youth. Read our interview with LMSA Co-President Marissa Mojena below to learn more about the group's service in Baltimore!
Tell us a little bit about your group! When was the group formed and what are its mission, goals, and values?
The Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) at Johns Hopkins is part of a national organization that was founded to support the personal and professional development of Latino medical students and to advocate for the health needs of the Latino community. Our chapter strives to create a supportive space for Latino students and allies, while also engaging in meaningful service, advocacy, and educational initiatives that center health equity and social justice. Our values include community, cultural humility, equity, and empowerment. We have taken upon ourselves seeing to fruition the following objectives:
- Mentorship and Recruitment: Working to build up the current pool of LMSA students in medicine, both at Hopkins and beyond – enhancing recruitment efforts and providing professional development opportunities to address resource gaps in the medical field.
- Cultural Expression / Community: Fostering a tight-knight community and a collaborative, supportive environment where every individual feels represented, valued, and empowered to celebrate and share their cultural identity.
- Community Outreach: Contribute to the longevity and wellbeing of the Latino community in Baltimore through active engagement.
- Advocacy / Education: Advancing awareness about Latin American cultures and the health disparities faced by Latinos in the U.S.
Can you share a little information about the work your group is doing and why you decided to become involved in LMSA?
Many of us joined LMSA to find a space where we can both celebrate our identities and advocate for equity in healthcare and education. We see LMSA as both a support system and a platform for action—one that uplifts Latino students and centers the needs of Latino and immigrant communities in Baltimore.
In that spirit, we have already organized several new initiatives. Alongside hosting our Know Your Rights Workshop and Red Card Handout, we have partnered with the Brain and Spine Scholars Initiative to support high school students from historically underrepresented backgrounds in accessing immersive neuroscience and medical education. We have also begun collaborating with the Hopkins undergraduate Latinx Pre-Health Honor Society, LEM with the goal of building mentorship pipelines and creating shared programming.
We are also building community within the School of Medicine through events like Cafecito Hour, a recurring informal gathering where students, faculty, and staff can come together to connect, chat, and recharge over some cafecito and pastries. Additionally, through our ongoing collaboration with Centro SOL, we are laying the groundwork for sustained outreach and service focused on immigrant health equity.
For all of us, LMSA is more than a student organization—it is a space where we can grow, organize, and reimagine what it means to serve with both skill and solidarity.
What other service activities does the group have planned in the future to get involved in the community? Are there any activities where others can get involved?
We are excited to continue building on the momentum of the past few months with several upcoming initiatives that center education and community partnership. We will be continuing our collaboration with Centro SOL, a Baltimore-based organization focused on advancing Latino health equity. Two of the initiatives we will be working on with Centro SOL are:
- The Health Ambassadors Program, which takes place on Saturday mornings in Highlandtown. LMSA members will facilitate engaging health education sessions for community members in Spanish—covering topics like navigating the healthcare system, understanding medical bills, and mental health.
- The Youth Summer Program, a five-week opportunity to mentor bilingual high school students interested in healthcare careers. LMSA members will help lead workshops on interpreting research, scientific writing, and hands-on activities like PCR and basic lab techniques.
Spanish speakers are encouraged to join any of these initiatives.
Our partnership with the Brain and Spine Scholars Initiative will take place this summer from July 21–25. This initiative brings high school students from historically underrepresented backgrounds to Johns Hopkins for a week of immersive neuroscience and healthcare experiences. LMSA members will support hands-on workshops (such as suturing, dissections, and taking vitals), speak on student panels, and provide mentorship. We will be working with around 60 high school students. Our goal is to help inspire and guide the next generation of healthcare professionals. Medical students and healthcare professionals of all backgrounds are encouraged to volunteer, and we’d love to see broader participation from the Hopkins community.
In addition, we are in the early stages of launching a journal club series that explores the diverse histories, cultures, and health challenges of different Latin American communities. We hope this will be a space to learn from one another and strengthen our cultural humility as future providers.
Through all of these initiatives, we are committed to fostering sustainable partnerships, creating opportunities for medical students to engage meaningfully, and ensuring that our service work is informed by and responsive to community voices.
"Engaging in service and community partnerships has been one of the most meaningful parts of our medical education so far. It keeps us grounded. It reminds us that the practice of medicine extends beyond clinics and hospitals—it lives in the neighborhoods, cultures, and stories of the people we serve. These initiatives challenge us to think critically about health disparities, structural racism, and the role of the physician in advocating for justice."
Could you share more details about the Red Card Handout LMSA organized? What were some key takeaways or impactful moments from that event?
This event was a two-day initiative that was designed to equip medical students and healthcare professionals with resources to understand their rights and how to better support our immigrant patients.
We began with a Know Your Rights Workshop, held at the School of Medicine, which brought together medical students, legal professionals, community advocates, and immigrant voices. Medical students, public health students, nursing students, undergraduate students, faculty, and staff were all in attendance. The workshop was structured in three parts:
- A presentation led by students that examined the historical roots of the current immigration crisis, focusing on how U.S. intervention throughout Latin America has destabilized the region and how this connects to modern immigration policy.
- A talk by University of Baltimore Law Professor Elizabeth Keyes, who broke down recent policy developments, legal protections for undocumented individuals in healthcare settings, and how providers can respond if law enforcement becomes involved.
- Finally, we heard from Centro SOL Executive Director Monica Vazquez and community leader Gina Calva Cuenca, who spoke powerfully about the lived experiences of immigrant families in Baltimore, healthcare barriers they face, and how providers can build trust and act as advocates.
The following day, we brought that learning into action through the Red Card Handout, where students went into Latino neighborhoods in Baltimore, such as Highlandtown and Greektown, to distribute “Red Cards” created by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC). These cards contain information in both English and Spanish that individuals can carry to better understand their legal rights and assert them during any encounters with law enforcement.
In addition to handing out materials, we spoke with local community members, answered questions, and helped make connections to local resources. Some of the most impactful moments came from these informal, face-to-face interactions—people shared personal stories, expressed gratitude, and reminded us that even small acts of outreach can be incredibly meaningful.
The event reinforced that as medical students, we have both a platform and a responsibility to understand the systems that harm our patients—and to actively work alongside community organizations to challenge those systems and advocate for change. It was a reminder of how important and powerful it is to pair education with action.
How do you feel that engaging in service and community partnership initiatives enhances or complements what you are learning in medical school?
Engaging in service and community partnerships has been one of the most meaningful parts of our medical education so far. It keeps us grounded. It reminds us that the practice of medicine extends beyond clinics and hospitals—it lives in the neighborhoods, cultures, and stories of the people we serve. These initiatives challenge us to think critically about health disparities, structural racism, and the role of the physician in advocating for justice. Through our work with organizations like Centro SOL and programs like the Red Card Handout, we are learning firsthand how immigration status, language barriers, systemic racism, and socioeconomic status can determine who gets care and who gets left behind. Working in partnership with our community deepens our understanding of patient-centered and trauma-informed care.