Paving the Way: Latinos in Medicine

When JC Cortez walked onto the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus as a freshman biology student, he hadn’t yet imagined himself on the road to becoming a physician. “I decided to be on the pre-med path sort of late into my freshman year,” he says. “Ever since, I’ve felt like it’s been the best decision for me.” His decision to go to med school evolved into a calling, connecting his childhood experiences, academic success, community roots, and his identity as a proud Latino in Illinois.

The Importance of Building Community

As he settled into campus life at the University of Illinois, JC found his place in an undergraduate organization committed to addressing the health needs of Latino communities through advocacy, education, and service. His involvement included serving first as resource chair and later as treasurer. JC was committed to helping fellow students find opportunities where they could get involved, whether that was through research opportunities, volunteering, or helping out in the local community. “I wanted to make sure everyone had the best opportunity to succeed,” JC explains. “For a lot of us, it can be intimidating to take those first steps toward a healthcare career, especially if we don’t see many people who look like us already in those roles.”

Breaking Barriers with the All Access License

In March of JC’s senior year, the university announced a game-changing partnership with ISAC and Kaplan called Prepare for Illinois’ Future Powered by Kaplan’s All Access License, which provides every student across 12 Illinois state universities and 5 community colleges free test and career preparation for exams such as the MCAT^®, LSAT^®, GRE^®, and many more. For JC and his fellow peers about to graduate, the news came at just the right time. “I remember sitting in class when they announced it,” he recalls. “It gave everyone a sense of relief. The MCAT is one of the most intimidating parts of the pre-med path, and now we finally had a structured, affordable way to prepare.”

Due to the expense of high quality preparation, before this program students like JC often relied on online resources such as Reddit and YouTube to research ideas on how to study because formal test prep programs were out of reach for many. “The Kaplan MCAT course gave me structure,” he says. “It broke everything down into daily lessons and emphasized active recall and spaced repetition. It’s helped me stay organized and build confidence little by little.”

Beyond the academic benefits, JC sees this as a program that levels the playing field for students from diverse economic backgrounds. “A lot of us are working, participating in extracurriculars, volunteering, helping our families, and trying to keep our grades up,” he explains. “The All Access License eliminates a major financial barrier. It gives every student a fair chance to succeed.”

Honoring Heritage Through Service

Since graduating in May 2025, JC is now working as a medical assistant at a Northwestern oncology center, gaining hands-on experience with the same communities he hopes to serve as a physician, many of whom are mainly Spanish-speaking patients. He says, “It can be intimidating for them to seek care because of language or financial barriers. But being able to speak to them in Spanish and reassure them that they’re in the right place makes such a difference.” JC has witnessed firsthand the critical need in Illinois' Latino communities for patients to be able to communicate effectively with their healthcare providers, and it’s one of the disparities to which he hopes one day to bring change.

He credits his own heritage for shaping his empathy and determination to create change. “My parents and grandparents always emphasized family and hard work,” he says. “But they were also raised to play it safe. Go to school, come home, and not take risks. I want to show that we can do more, that we can go out, try new things, and make a difference in our communities.”

The MCAT and Looking Ahead

With his MCAT exam on the horizon and medical school applications almost complete, JC remains focused on his long-term goal: becoming a physician who advocates for the many underrepresented communities in Illinois. “I hope to be someone patients can trust,” he says. “Someone who understands their culture and speaks their language.”

For JC, programs like Kaplan’s All Access License don’t just prepare students for tests, they open doors to a world of possibility and change. “This program helped me get one step closer to my dream,” he says. “And one day, I hope to be that doctor who gives back to the same community that raised me.”