Clifton Student Spent Summer Vaccinating Filipino Children

DEMAREST, N.J. — While many high school students are still a few years away from choosing a career path, Academy of the Holy Angels sophomore Czarina Marie Alfonso knows exactly what she wants to pursue.

Czarina Marie Alfonso of Clifton, an aspiring doctor and sophomore at the Academy of the Holy Angels in Demarest.
Photo Credit: *Contributed*

Cecilia Levine

09/30/2017 5:00 a.m.

Medicine.

Alfonso recently finished second in a competition at Georgetown Medical School. Then, she visited the Philippines to bring pneumonia vaccines to 100 local children.

Alfonso's curiosity was developed and nurtured at home.

"As the daughter of two doctors, I grew up hearing about different cases and various medical terms at our dinner table," she said.

"Hearing about what my parents did at work inspired me to follow in their footsteps at a very young age. After perusing the medical journals my parents would receive in the mail, I was amazed by how changes and developments in medicine can affect and impact the lives of numerous individuals, both sick and healthy.

"The thought of not only improving, but also saving, people's lives is something I have always wanted to partake in."

Alfonso sees herself earning an undergraduate degree in biochemistry or biology before entering medical school. She said she would like to pursue a Ph.D./M.D. program, noting her love for research and her desire to have her own practice or work at a hospital.

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