Lincoln Laureate aims to serve her community with medical care 

Monica Padilla credits UIC with giving her the tools to keep her eyes on her goal: attending medical school and serving her community as a bilingual physician. 

During her four years at the university, the premedical student dedicated much of her time in and out of the classroom to improving public health in underserved communities. 

Padilla, a double major in public health and biological sciences and a member of UIC’s Honors College, is UIC’s 2024 Lincoln Academy Student Laureate. The award is given to seniors – just one from each college in Illinois – who have followed in the path of former President Abraham Lincoln by committing themselves to leadership and positive social change. 

She credits the Latin American Recruitment and Educational Services program, or Lares, the Medicina Scholars Program in the Hispanic Center of Excellence and the Latin@s Gaining Access to Networks for Advancement in Science, or L@s Ganas, for helping her succeed. Her parents immigrated from Mexico. 

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“The organizations guided me and set the foundation for Latino students like me who are navigating undergraduate school for the first time and being the first in the family to pursue a STEM degree or even think about going to medical school,” said Padilla. 

Padilla’s journey reflects her deep commitment to both medicine and her community. Aspiring to be a bilingual physician, she hopes to use her skills to create lasting, accessible healthcare solutions for her neighborhood. Her vision is to build a sustainable support network that empowers her Little Village community and ensures that every family has the resources they need for a healthier future.

Padilla began serving her Little Village community in high school as a research assistant intern for Chicago EYES on Cancer. In this role, she examined barriers preventing Hispanic women in Chicago from enrolling in breast cancer clinical trials. She translated English materials, including flyers, emails, and information session content, into Spanish, and conducted church-based interventions to increase Hispanic engagement in clinical trials. Her efforts contributed to a 550% increase in Hispanic diversity for breast cancer clinical trial study. 

Padilla is a volunteer for the American Cancer Society and its Cancer Action Network, which advocates for cancer-fighting policies. 

Padilla takes an active role in the Cancer Action Network. As a legislative ambassador, she regularly travels to Springfield and Washington, D.C., to meet with legislators and advocate for sustained funding for cancer-related policies to help end cancer for all. She also serves on the steering committee of the newly founded American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network Young Leaders Caucus. Padilla brings this advocacy experience back to UIC, where she serves as the advocacy and education chair for Colleges Against Cancer.

“We go out every single year and talk to our legislators about these policies that really have an effect on people, because cancer doesn’t discriminate and cancer attacks anyone who it gets its hands on,” said Padilla. 

She serves as a research assistant at the University of Illinois Cancer Center under the organization’s associate director of community outreach and engagement, Yamilé Molina. Padilla’s research project examines the impact of empowerment versus education interventions on enhancing breast cancer knowledge and reducing cultural beliefs and misinformation among Latina women with the goal of identifying which approach is more effective in promoting lasting changes in health awareness and preventive behaviors. 

She also is vice president of Mujeres en Medicina, a student group aimed at encouraging Latinas to pursue healthcare careers by offering mentorships, professional development, socials and scholarship opportunities. 

Off campus, Padilla volunteers with the Mobile Migrant Health Team, a volunteer organization led by UIC medical students and faculty that provides health care services to migrants in Chicago. She serves as a Spanish interpreter and as logistics and scheduling coordinator. 

“In a city as diverse as Chicago, healthcare should not be a privilege afforded by birthplace,” she said. “Our communities thrive when every resident – regardless of origin – has access to the preventive care and support they need to live a healthy life.” 

For Padilla, it’s not all about medicine. She has competed in Taekwondo tournaments for the last ten years and founded and served as president of the Taekwondo Club, a UIC student organization that builds on her love of the martial art. She also began the Chinese Club where she can focus on her interest in Chinese, which is her minor. 

In addition to being a Lincoln Laureate, Padilla earned a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study in Taiwan this winter and  a scholarship from the Chicago Latino Caucus Foundation. She’s a recipient of the Hilda Lopez-Arce Undergraduate Scholarship and received a STEM scholarship from the SBB Research Group Foundation. She was singled out for her work in increasing the enrollment of Latinas in the breast cancer study and for collecting 300 signatures in support of the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Program for the American Cancer Society. 

“UIC has really offered that support system,” said Padilla. “Since freshman year, my advisor Kathryn Burns-Howard in the Honors College has let me know, ‘You’re doing amazing; here are some opportunities.’”