PUSO has almost 15 years of great history. This history includes many PUSO Boards such as Studio 16. The people of PUSO in the past years are known as PUSO’s awesome alumni. So why not start a PUSO Alumni Association? Many PUSO alumni are still involved with PUSO, and they are all there for us. They also want to help us with things such as PUSO events and even internships. Go and get to know some PUSO alumni.
NAME: Mark Estanislao
PUSO POSITIONS: Outreach Coordinator 04-05, Social Director 05-06
E-MAIL: mark/estanislao@gmail.com
OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION: N/A
ADVICE TO CURRENT PUSO MEMBERS: PUSO love is extraordinary. Never hesitate to ask because someone in the PUSO family will come along and help you.
A LITTLE BIOGRAPHY: I graduated UCI in 2007 as a Social Science Major with a Specialization in Secondary Education in Social Studies and a minor in Education. I completed the UCI teacher credential from Sept 2007 – June 2008 and am now in the Master’s program at UCI. As of right now, I am an 8th grade U.S. History teacher at Lakeside Middle in Norwalk. =).
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NAME: Marian Bacol-Uba
PUSO POSITION: Public Relations
E-MAIL: mbacoluba@yahoo.com
OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION: N/A
ADVICE TO CURRENT PUSO MEMBERS: STUDY ABROAD!!!
A LITTLE BIOGRAPHY: After my 1st year I switched majors from Bio to International Studies and Sociology. I studied abroad 2x and got addicted. Now, every year, I make it a point to travel at least once internationally. I am now working at a law firm, doing business development and marketing and planning to pursue my MBA in a few years.
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NAME: Vincent Velasco
PUSO POSITIONS: Underclass Representative 01-02, Academic Director 02-03, Historian 03-04, Outreach Coordinator 05-06
E-MAIL: velasco@gmail.com, velasco1@illinois.edu, vvelasco@alumni.uci.edu
OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION: 19494360218
ADVICE TO CURRENT PUSO MEMBERS: Get out there and VOTE! And don’t hesitate to get involved. PUSO was created from students like you, and an active, growing community is what makes PUSO shine. We need people like you to make this little organization GREAT!
A LITTLE BIOGRAPHY: This one finished UCI as a studio art major/digital arts & biological sciences minor in 2007. Although he stayed for quite a while at Irvine, he is fully committed in paving a new career direction. Even if PUSO was not in the design field, the organization really did make him realize what he wanted to be. He is now studying in “paradise” at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, seeking a master’s in the architecture program there.
NAME: Jason J. Lustina
PUSO POSITIONS: Public Relations 97-98, Outreach Coordinator 98-99, Director 99-00
E-MAIL: jlust1022@gmail.com
OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION: N/A
ADVICE TO CURRENT PUSO MEMBERS: Yes You CAN!
A LITTLE BIOGRAPHY: Graduated from UCI in 2001. Majored in Environmental Analysis & Design, Minored in Epidemiology & Public Health. Interned at the American Heart Association in Orange County in 2000 and became Director of Corporate Events in June 2001. Have been working with the organization ever since and currently working as the Train to End Stroke Director in Los Angeles.
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NAME: Rozanno Gonzales
PUSO POSITIONS: Outreach Coordinator 00-01, Director 01-02
E-MAIL: rozanno@gmail.com, rozanoo_gonzales@hotmail.com
OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION: 19494398257
ADVICE TO CURRENT PUSO MEMBERS: The path you are leading in life may not necessarily be the path you should take. Just enjoy the now.
A LITTLE BIOGRAPHY: I started out graduating from Bio in 2002 and was in pursuit of my PharmD, which never really finished. I stopped with the whole pharmacy thing and turned to the pharmaceutical industry. My friend suggested I try and work in clinical research. So i worked from an entry level position and now am a Clinical Research Associate at Allergan in Irvine. I pretty much manage the logistics of human clinical research and ensure that they are being conducted ethically and within GCP/ICH/FDA regulations. I am also preparing/pursuing my MBA and hopefully will enter UC Irvine’s Fully Employed MBA program in Spring 2009.
NAME: Christine Angeles
PUSO POSITION: Public Relations 00-01
E-MAIL: christine.angeles@gmail.com
OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION: N/A
ADVICE TO CURRENT PUSO MEMBERS: Life doesn’t always go as planned. Live in the moment and take advantage of every opportunity that’s out there.
A LITTLE BIOGRAPHY: I graduated from UCI in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in International Studies. I then graduated from Samuel Merritt College in April 2008 with a master’s degree in nursing, specializing in case management. I worked for Kaiser Permanente for a year on the med/surg floor – orthopedics. I recently moved back down to Orange County and I am currently employed at Hoag hospital in Newport Beach. In the near future, I either plan on becoming a nurse practitioner or a certified registered nurse anesthetist. Later on down the road, I plan on going into nursing education.
NAME: Jennifer Flores
PUSO POSITIONS: Underclass Representative 02-03, Academic Director 03-04
E-MAIL: jennifer.flores@gmail.com
OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION: E-mail if you want to call!
ADVICE TO CURRENT PUSO MEMBERS: In short, it is very important to study AND be involved! If you’re even remotely thinking about grad school, you will need to prove to them that you can handle a large load at UCI first. Of course, I’m not saying to only study, but take your education at UCI seriously — it is very valuable (although you might not see it until later). At the same time, enjoy the time spent being part of a great school and organization! Look to each other for support and cherish the PUSO family — PUSO love!!! =)
A LITTLE BIOGRAPHY: I’m in my last year of pharmacy school, currently doing clinical rotations and working at Kaiser Woodland Hills. I was involved in several organizations while in pharmacy school, but I decided not to be too active this year so I can plan a wedding! =)
NAME: Michelle Buenviaje
PUSO POSITION: Historian 98-99
E-MAIL: dalilpinay@aol.com
OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION: N/A
ADVICE TO CURRENT PUSO MEMBERS: Keep an open mind when it comes to your future and the paths that you will take. If you do, you may be surprised you came down a different path that led you to something even greater.
A LITTLE BIOGRAPHY: I received my Masters in Health Sciences, Physician Assistant Studies. I am now a physician assistant working in urgent care, podiatry, family and internal medicine.
NAME: David Almario
PUSO POSITIONS: Treasurer 04-05, Academic Director 06-07
E-MAIL: dalmario@tulane.edu
OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION: 18312409306
ADVICE TO CURRENT PUSO MEMBERS: 1) As others have said, cherish your time in undergrad! Responsibilities and the pressure to secure yourself financially and be independent only increase after you graduate, so make the most of your free time now. 2) That being said, I suggest having as much fun as “academically” possible. If you’re going for some competitive fields like medicine, dentistry, nursing, or pharmacy, you do need to hunker down and get your face in those books. 3) Time management. God, if only I had managed my time better during undergrad, I could’ve done so many more things. I wasted too much damn time. But seriously, if you can organize your time well, you’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish. 4) UCI has one of the best campus recreation systems. Take advantage of it and enroll in as many classes as you can. The breakdance, popping, and karate classes are great ones, just to name a few. 5) Majors. Major in what you’re truly interested in! If I could do it all over again, I probably would’ve majored in one of the Engineering fields and minor in Anthro while still taking the med school pre-reqs, instead of just going straight up biological sciences. Plus, for you pre-meds, you’ll definitely stand out during the app process as a non-bio major. 6) Motivation and success. Consistently do some introspection and figure out what keeps you driven and why you’re in college in the first place. What do you want out of the college experience? Where do you want to be after you’re done at UCI? 7) Pre-med advice a. Competition gets tougher each year. At my med school last cycle, there were over 10,000 applicants for 175 spots. Other schools like George Washington Univ. and Boston Univ. EACH had over 12,000 applicants for even fewer spots. b. Keep your GPA up. Above 3.5 at least. c. For allopathic and osteopathic schools, MCAT scores should be at least >28. For Cali allopathic schools, you should at least be in the low 30′s. d. Long-term (at least 6 months, in my opinion), meaningful, clinical experience is a MUST. You WILL be asked “Why do you want to be a physician?” at interviews. And having some clinical experience of your own is a critical component of a thorough response. e. Consistently engage yourself in extracurricular activities that make you stand out. If I didn’t put down some of my somewhat unique extracurricular activities, I’m pretty sure I would be reapplying to med school right now. Admission committee members like to see that you have activities outside of academics where you can relieve stress. And believe me, there’s a LOT of stress here in med school… f. Overall, you should present yourself as well-rounded as possible. But, I do have to say that the 2 most important things are your GPA and MCAT. If you don’t do so well academically in undergrad though, you still have a great chance of improving your resume and getting into med school in the future with all the post-bacc and Masters programs out there. Many of my classmates have Masters degrees and sometimes I wish I had done such a program. Those guys are well ahead academically than those of us with only Bachelors degrees. And they for sure aren’t stressing out as much. g. Explore as many different career options before applying to med school. Check out all the fields out there (including non-health related ones). As I learned the hard way, you should not have any doubts about a career choice in medicine once in med school. You just don’t have the time to be seriously doubting yourself. I’m only a first year student, but from what my preceptors and upperclassmen have taught me, you’ve got to be totally committed so that you’re competent and don’t risk the lives of your patients. The last thing you want is to end up regretting going into medicine because you didn’t check out any other fields before but then feel trapped into this career because of a staggering amount of debt. h. Lastly, I suggest taking at least 1 year off after undergrad before entering med school. I wish I had taken 2 years, actually. During med school, free time is almost nonexistent and your life can, at times, be totally consumed by your studies. As one of my professors pointed out, “Medicine is not about you. It’s about your patient.” There’s no rush to get into medicine. Enjoy your young-mid 20′s. Travel. Work. Just try to get as much life experience as you can. You’ll most likely be an even better applicant because of those experiences. Don’t be afraid of going into medicine in your mid-late 20s or even 30s. I believe the average matriculant age is now 24. The oldest guy in my class is 36. Half the people in my class are over the age of 25, and they have many real world experiences to talk about. I’m 23 and feel that my experiences can’t even compare. If any of you PUSO members have questions, please feel free to email or call me. Take care at UCI. And remember that you guys have it really good there. Nothing beats good old Cali :) – David
A LITTLE BIOGRAPHY: I’m a first year medical student at Tulane University in New Orleans. To help avoid the more than $275k in school debt, I will be signing my final officer commissioning documents for the United States Navy in the next couple of weeks and will then become property of the U.S. Gov’t for at least the next 10 years…gulp… But, the U.S. Navy will be paying for all the tuition, living expenses, and they throw in a $20k signing bonus in too. Not a bad deal if you have some interest in the military beforehand and are debt averse. As for PUSO, this organization was probably THE best thing to happen to me during undergrad, and almost all of my good memories come from PUSO-related events.
NAME: Mark Calub
PUSO POSITIONS: Public Relations 01-02, Social Director 02-03
E-MAIL: mcalub@gmail.com, mcalub@uci.edu
OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION: 15628185170
ADVICE TO CURRENT PUSO MEMBERS: Take your time at UCI. Don’t get too wrapped up in academics and no fun. It is all about balance. You’ve got the rest of your life to worry about your career. If you feel overwhelmed, slow it all down. Don’t fret about finishing in four years or having too many loans. Trust me, the real world isn’t impatiently for you and it’s not that exciting, so enjoy your undergraduate life as much as you can and really explore all the opportunities made available to you at UCI. With that said, get involved in PUSO and the rest of the UCI community. Networking is just as important as getting straight A’s. You not only build long lasting friendships, but you now have a chain of people for references, job opportunities, personal “hook-ups”, and professional advice.
A LITTLE BIOGRAPHY: I completed my Chemistry degree in 2003 and my Environmental Analysis and Design degree in early 2004. I also completed UCI’s Environmental Management and Occupational Health and Safety Extension programs in 2005 and 2006, respectively. I now work for The Boeing Company in Huntington Beach as an Occupational Health and Safety Engineering Specialist. Basically, I deal with occupational injuries and accidents/incidents, ensure workplace hazards are minimized and/or eliminated, and help keep our facility within regulatory compliance. And because I still can’t get enough of UCI, I recently just started UCI’s Fully-Employed MBA program. So, you should see me around campus, especially on Tuesday and Thursday nights around the Paul Merage buildings. If anyone is interested in the Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) field or in the aerospace/manufacturing industry, I am your key contact.
NAME: Shelby Padua Lapiad (formerly Shelby Padua)
PUSO POSITIONS: Public Relations 00-01, Academic Director 01-02
E-MAIL: splapiad@gmail.com
OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION: N/A
ADVICE TO CURRENT PUSO MEMBERS: Look into many different careers and see what would fit you. What would you like to end up doing for the rest of your life? I know for me I looked into many different career paths to finally actually figure out what direction I wanted to go. You find out a lot about yourself in undergrad so go out there, try new things, and do plenty of extracurricular activities. Do things for yourself and not because it would look good on a resume. PUSO was one of those organizations that made me feel good to be a part of and one of the more special, unique experiences I’ve had in undergrad so enjoy the experience while you can. Overall, just be true to yourself, work hard, and things will fall into place. If you are deciding or even have any interest in a career in dentistry, email me and I’d be happy to answer any questions.
A LITTLE BIOGRAPHY: I graduated from UCI in 2002 with a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a B.S. in Chemistry (I know overkill, huh?). Right after, I worked for Cal State Long Beach’s Biochemistry Department as a Biochemical Laboratory Technician for 2 years. I had to make a decision on what direction I wanted to make with my life after that 1st year out of undergrad. I liked doing the research and was about to apply for graduate school to try to get my Ph.D. in Biochemistry, but I realized that wasn’t the type of work I could see myself doing for the rest of my life. I decided to apply to dental school instead. I then attended the UCLA School of Dentistry in 2004 and just graduated this past June 2008. (Let me tell you… dental school is not easy and I learned so much and went through a lot these past 4 years, but I’m so glad this was the path I chose.) I also got married in June 2007 as well. I am currently doing a one-year general dentistry residency for the VA Long Beach Hospital’s Dental Clinic and providing dental work for the military veterans here at the hospital.
