Sonia Barocio plans to transfer to UC Irvine and study biology, and ultimately earn a PhD in Biomedical Research. She has flourished at LMC, participating in the Honors Scholar, STEM Scholar, STEM Ambassador and MESA programs. She presented research at the Statewide Honors Research Symposium, and was a summer researcher at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). She has been involved with Alpha Gamma Sigma – the honors society of the California Community Colleges, and is a founding member of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) Club at LMC.

Sonia explains, “These campus activities helped me create a strong relationship with the LMC community, which I deeply care for. I have learned about the great benefits of giving back to the community, which has made significant contributions to the development of my character and to the person I am today. My research experience at MUSC inspired my career goal: to predict and discover genetic, optical and cardiovascular diseases.”