Pueblo East Sider studying medicine in Mexico
By LA CUCARACHA
Thanks to a scholarship fund established to memorialize the tragic loss of Isaiah Vialpando, Pueblo East Sider, Mayra Placencia, is in Guadalajara, Mexico, studying to become a medical doctor.
Vialpando was murdered in Downtown Pueblo by a young man who mistakenly believed he was a member of a rival gang in 2015. Vialpando was an accomplished mariachi and a student at Colorado State University Pueblo at the time of his death.
Devastated by their son’s senseless killing, his parents Roberto Cordova and Melissa Vialpando focused on honoring their son by creating a scholarship fund in his name. To date, the fund has awarded 126 scholarships.
Placencia received her first scholarship from the fund during the devastating Covid pandemic. She earned her associate of science degrees in surgical technology and biology from Pueblo Community College in 2019. Her next step was a bachelor of science degree in biology with a minor in chemistry in 2024 from the CSUP.
This past year, she was accepted to El Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara (UAG), Mexico. She will call Guadalajara home for the next two years and she plans to return to the United States for clinical rotations for and additional two years. Placencia intends to graduate in 2029 and become an medical doctor.
Placencia selected UAG because it aligns with her core values and her Mexican Heritage. In a way, studying medicine in Mexico takes her full-circle. She came from a hardworking, first-generation Mexican-American family. Her parents emigrated to the United States from humble beginnings in the state of Michoacan in rural Mexico in pursuit of the American dream for their children.
Placencia was born on May 22, 1998, in the San Fernando Valley, Calif. In 2003, the family relocated to Pueblo, Colo. She calls Pueblo home and this shaped who she is today.
Myra’s parents never had the opportunity to pursue a college education, but, instilled in her the importance of getting an education. Their support and resilience taught her that no dream was too ambitious if it was pursued with purpose and passion.
“I carry with me not only my own dreams, but the sacrifices, hopes, and hard work of my parents and those who came before me,” she said.
Placencia never thought about becoming a doctor until she was working as a surgical technologist. She wanted to do more to fulfill her purpose and now she has no doubt that she belongs in the medical field.
She feels an immense sense of pride returning to the country that gave her family its roots, while pursuing a career that will allow her to give back to the community that shaped her in the Steel City.
Mayra, the youngest of four, admires her siblings and draws inspiration from their experiences. She states in Spanish, “Para mi mama, gracias por enseñarme el valor del trabajo duro y la humildad. Gracias a tu sacrificio y valentía estoy preparada para comenzar esta nueva etapa en un nuevo país, tal como tú lo hiciste.”
Placencia also acknowledges the support she has received along the way.
She is thankful to Tanya Gregory (East High School), who was her Gear-Up advisor who introduced her to college classes while still in high school, Aaron Lucero, (Pueblo Community College) her TRIO Student Support Services advisor who always helped her seek scholarships and connections for her career path, CSUP Professor Samuel Gockel, PhD, her organic chemistry professor who pushed her out of her comfort zone to tutor chemistry classes. This helped prepare her for the chemistry section in the Medical College Admission Test.
Placencia is humbled by receiving the Isaiah Vialpando Memorial Foundation and Pueblo Hispanic Education Foundation (PHEF) Scholarships. She is thankful PHEF Executive Director Janelle Quick and Isaiah’s Parents Robert Cordova and Melissa Vialpando.
Much of the money for the memorial fund has been raised by sponsoring motorcycle runs in Pueblo, and Albuquerque, but during the Covid years, the committee had to rely on raffles, sales of everything from memorial T-shirts, burritos, and suckers all over Pueblo including Holy Family Parish’s parking lot after Mariachi Masses, said Cordova.
Mayra Plasencia is No. 28 on the list of recipients of the Isaiah Vialpando Memorial Scholarship.