She Combines Travel with a Passion for Helping Others

A recent Physician Assistant graduate of Duquesne, Urzua-Alba is grateful for a university experience that offered a horizon-expanding education that included providing healthcare services to those most in need.

“I love Duquesne’s mission of serving students so they can go on to serve others,” said Urzua-Alba, a native of Sarasota, Florida.  “In my first year, I went on a mission trip through Campus Ministry to the Dominican Republic and it was so rewarding that I continued going on them.”

A first generation Mexican-American student, Urzua-Alba embraced opportunities for global engagement. During her time at Duquesne, she went on medical mission trips to the Dominican Republic, participated in World Youth Day in Portugal and expanded her global and cultural perspective through study abroad in Rome.

She noted that her grandmother Esperanza inspired her to help those most in need.

“I would spend summers with my grandmother in Mexico, where she worked with the Red Cross,” she said. “She had always wanted to work in healthcare, but that wasn’t possible. But she was always helping people. She was a major inspiration in my life.”

Now Urzua-Alba combines her skills and passion on various mission trips. She co-led a Dominican Republic medical mission trip that included a week-long summer camp for children.

“We brought all the supplies for the week, including crafts, sports equipment, books and other activities for the kids,” she said. “We conducted a crowdfunding effort to buy supplies, and the money we had leftover we donated to a new clinic in the region.”

As part of her participation in World Youth Day, Urzua-Alba created a documentary piece on the experience and working with the Spiritans.

“I’ve seen a lot of the world thanks to Duquesne,” she said. “These mission trips teach you a lot about people. I’ve found that we are more similar to each other than we think we are.”

Attracted to Duquesne by its Physician Assistant program, Urzua-Alba said the program’s smaller class sizes provide some great advantages. 

“I’ve built great relationships with my professors over the years,” she said. “It’s nice to have that one-on-one time to get to know each other and learn together.”

With her clinical rotations ending, Urzua-Alba is interested in working in the pediatrics and surgery fields. She also hopes to continue participating in mission trips in her free time.

“I really want to help people who don’t have access to healthcare,” she said. “I look forward to serving others.”