Valeria Delgado ’24 went from rubbing shoulders with members of Congress to catching up on her coursework in the span of a few days. “Last Thursday I was listening to the president and today I’m studying for my genetics test,” Delgado said the day after returning from the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C.

Delgado attended with Rep. Lou Correa, whose district includes Orange, Anaheim, Fullerton, Santa Ana and Stanton. Delgado, who is a health sciences major at Chapman University, works as a medical scribe at Children’s Hospital of Orange County and is involved with the student first aid team and the Red Cross.

“It was such a surreal experience being at the State of the Union in person versus watching it on TV,” she said. “Being there in the same room as the president — wow.” Delgado’s parents were excited for her, even more so because of their own challenges, Delgado said. Those challenges were an inspiration for Delgado’s plan to become a physician assistant. “My parents are Spanish speaking and seeing how their health care process works, I want to be able to fill in that gap and help the community overall,” said Delgado, who grew up in Orange County and whose family is from the western Mexican state of Nayarit.

After visiting D.C., she saw parallels between government and health care. “There’s a lot happening behind the scenes to keep the country running,” she said. Her time in D.C. only furthered her passion for improving health care for the underprivileged and being an advocate for underserved communities.

“My neighborhood is predominantly Latino and I see a lot of health care disparities, and just working at the hospital showed me there’s gaps I want to fill,” she said. “I’m still so passionate about health care and being a patient advocate … I think that’s where I can get the best results for my community.”