Medical resident reflects on starting her journey at FRCC.
Brissa Mundo-Santacruz’s journey to becoming a doctor started at Front Range Community College 11 years ago.
Today, the first-year family medicine resident at Swedish Medical Center acknowledges that earning her Doctor of Medicine degree took more than just hard work and excellent time management skills. It required resilience, unwavering confidence in herself and maybe a little naïve optimism.
No Plan B
“You hear all the time when you tell people you’re pursuing medical school how hard it is and how many people change their minds after a few classes,” says Brissa, who graduated from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in 2023.
“I remember people doubting me when I began college, but I didn’t take it to heart as much as I could have. I just knew I really wanted to do this. And I never had a plan B.”
Where it All Began
Brissa was born in Mexico and came to the United States by way of Texas at age three. At seven years old, her mother relocated them to Loveland, Colorado, to be close to extended family.
Her mother remarried, and the family moved to the small town of Eaton, where Brissa spent most of her formative years. Halfway through high school, the family returned to Loveland.
The move wasn’t easy for Brissa, and it derailed her a bit. “I was a teenager going through typical teenager things, and school became a low priority,” she says.
Getting Back on Track
Her high school guidance counselor noticed Brissa struggling and started checking in on her.
“He saw my potential and told me I was too smart to be failing classes,” she remembers. “He has so much to do with me getting back on the right path my senior year, and is the one who encouraged me to go to Front Range Community College.”
That mentor, Mr. Cain, is still in Brissa’s life—he even attended her graduation from medical school last year.
A Passion for Math and Science
After graduating from high school in 2013, Brissa enrolled at FRCC, where she rediscovered her love for math and science—subjects she’d enjoyed when she was young. The small classes and caring faculty made her feel comfortable, and Brissa took full advantage of the opportunity to ask a lot of questions and meet with her instructors outside of class.
“FRCC was so great, and I especially enjoyed the diverse population,” Brissa says. “There are older students and students with kids and jobs.
“I was very inspired by how serious and focused people were on reaching their goals. It made me very focused too.”
Getting Ready to Transfer
Although college was unfamiliar to Brissa—she’s a first-generation student—she adapted well and flourished. She made plans to transfer to Colorado State University to earn a bachelor’s degree in physics and was thinking about a career in engineering.
But during her last semester at FRCC, Brissa was in a car accident that left her with back pain and other injuries. “Until that point, I didn’t have a lot of contact with the healthcare system,” she recalls.
“Talking with doctors got me very interested in what they did, and I liked the idea of helping people. I started wondering if I could become a doctor with a physics degree.”
Some Good Advice
Brissa shared her new idea with her FRCC advisor, who suggested that she major in biology at CSU. She graduated magna cum laude with an Associate of Science degree from FRCC in May 2015. Then she started work on her Bachelor of Science in biological sciences with an emphasis in anatomy and physiology at Colorado State.
At CSU, Brissa did well once again. She gained experience as a volunteer in the emergency department at the Medical Center of the Rockies and landed a research assistant position with a professor at CSU, studying chromosomal translocations of eukaryotes in response to environmental stress.
When she presented her research at a pre-medical conference at CU School of Medicine, it quickly became her first-choice school. “My family is here, and I really want to stay in Colorado, so I was really hoping for CU.”
A Dream Come True
After graduating from CSU in December 2017, Brissa spent the next year continuing to do research and studying for the MCAT. Her hard work paid off, and in 2019 she was accepted at CU School of Medicine as part of the class of 2023.
Medical school was Brissa’s greatest academic challenge yet. “Classes have so much material, and I was studying with the best and brightest students, so it was hard not to feel some self-doubt,” she says.
“Where I’m Supposed to Be”
As she’s done every step of the way, however, Brissa just kept working. “Eventually I realized that everyone comes from different backgrounds, and I stopped comparing myself to others.”
“When we got to clinicals, I knew I was exactly where I was supposed to be and enjoyed every part of it,” she says. “All the little things that happened in my life helped guide me, and I did work very hard in medical school. But really, I just think that becoming a doctor was written for me.”
Finding Her Specialty
Several clinical rotations sparked Brissa’s excitement, including emergency medicine and obstetrics and gynecology. But there was no looking back once she did a family medicine rotation at one of the clinics of Salud Family Health. Salud is a federally qualified health center that focuses on low-income, medically underserved populations and the migrant farm worker population.
“I realized that family practitioners do a little of everything, from preventative medicine to delivering babies to doing biopsies,” she says. “I’m someone who likes everything about medicine, so it really fit me well.”
A Match Made in Heaven
In her fourth year of medical school, Brissa obtained a sub-internship at Swedish Medical Center and applied for family medicine residency there and throughout Denver. “I loved the people and the hospital, and it was absolutely my top pick going into interview season and leading up to Match Day,” she says.
Lucky for Brissa, the feeling was mutual. In March 2023, she matched into a family medicine residency at Swedish Medical. Her husband, who she met in medical school, matched in emergency medicine at Denver Health in 2022.
Another New Adventure: Motherhood
Just as Brissa’s husband was starting his residency in 2022, the couple became first-time parents to a baby girl. Fortunately, their opposite schedules align well with parenthood, and one of them is usually able to be home with their daughter while the other is working.
“It’s hard to be parents and residents at the same time, but we’re doing a good job handling it and wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world,” she says. “Being married to a doctor is wonderful. We understand each other, and we both had the same dream and come from very similar backgrounds.”
Life is about to get a little happier and more hectic for the couple. Brissa is pregnant with their second child, a girl, who is due in August 2024.
Gratefulness
As Brissa approaches the end of her first year of residency this summer, she feels endless gratitude. “I love it at Swedish, and I enjoy developing relationships with patients,” she says.
“In family medicine, you get to see people regularly and help them on their journey, whether they’re trying to improve their blood pressure or dealing with a new diagnosis. I like that continuity.”
Words of Wisdom: Be True to Your Commitment
To students just starting out at college who feel called to become a doctor, Brissa’s advice is to believe in yourself.
“If you’re serious about wanting to go into medicine, don’t let anyone pull you away from that goal, and be true to your commitment,” she says. “Self-doubt is your biggest enemy.”
“I wasn’t a great high school student and I started at a community college, but those weren’t barriers,” she says. “I trusted in myself and stayed committed, and knew that in the end, I’d get to take care of people. And I’m so grateful.”
