For Dr. Andrea Hernandez, the path to medicine began long before she fully understood
what it would require. Growing up in Mission, Texas, as the daughter of Mexican American
immigrants, she was raised in a family grounded in resilience, faith, and sacrifice.
Her parents worked tirelessly to create opportunities for their children, while her
grandmother helped care for the family during long workdays.
One memory still stays with her today: a childhood note signed simply, “Dr. Andrea.”
“Apparently I had claimed the title long before I understood the responsibility,” she shared while speaking before the Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP) Council this spring.
Today, Dr. Hernandez is a third-year anesthesiology resident in Houston after completing her undergraduate studies at The University of Texas at Austin and earning her medical degree through McGovern Medical School. Throughout her remarks to the council, she emphasized that her journey was never accomplished alone.
“As a first-generation college student from the Rio Grande Valley, the Joint Admission Medical Program transformed what once felt like a distant dream into a real and achievable path to medicine,” Dr. Hernandez said.
Her story reflects the broader mission of JAMP: strengthening Texas’ future physician workforce by supporting talented students through mentorship, preparation, financial assistance, and long-term guidance.
Dr. Nina Gonzalez, Dr. Andrea Hernandez, and Dr. Cynthia Perry
during a recent JAMP Council meeting.
Dr. Hernandez said one of the earliest influences on her view of medicine came from growing up with a Latina pediatrician who could communicate directly with her family in Spanish.
“Representation matters,” she explained, describing how seeing someone who looked like her in medicine made the profession feel possible rather than distant.
That sense of purpose deepened when her grandfather was diagnosed with renal cancer. Because specialized care was not readily available near home, the family traveled to Houston for treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Watching physicians care for her grandfather left a lasting impact.
“I witnessed science, compassion, and service working in harmony to heal someone that I love,” Dr. Hernandez said. The experience shifted medicine from admiration into purpose and deepened her desire to bring that same level of care back to communities like her own.
As the first in her family to attend college, Dr. Hernandez described arriving at UT Austin as a “generational milestone.” She chose to study public health to better understand the healthcare disparities she witnessed growing up in the Rio Grande Valley, including the burden many families face traveling long distances for specialty care.
During college, a mentor encouraged Dr. Hernandez to apply for JAMP. Reflecting on the importance of this moment of encouragement that changed everything for her, she notes that this mentor saw potential in her before she was able to clearly see it in herself.
After being accepted into the program, Dr. Hernandez participated in JAMP Summer Internship experiences at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine at UNT Health Fort Worth and the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio, experiences she described as transformative. She recalls her first summer as the first time she was surrounded by peers who understood the pressures and experiences of being first generation.
“We were not just studying medicine. We were rewriting narratives,” she said.
She noted that JAMP offered far more than encouragement.
“JAMP equipped us,” Dr. Hernandez said, emphasizing the program’s structure, mentorship, financial support, and accountability.
Dr. Andrea Hernandez and Yolanda Bell
While preparing for the MCAT, Dr. Hernandez experienced a devastating car accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury and amnesia.
“The future I had worked towards suddenly felt fragile,” she recalled.
With support from her family, mentors, and the structure JAMP provided, she slowly recovered, returned to studying, and ultimately met her MCAT requirements.
Dr. Hernandez said that achievement belonged not only to her, but also to her family and the support system JAMP provided.
“Without the structure and accountability of this program, walking away might have felt easier,” she said. “Instead, I kept going.”
She later matriculated into McGovern Medical School, where she credits mentors, including Ms. Yolanda Bell, for helping her overcome imposter syndrome and continue believing in her own potential.
Yolanda Bell, Director of Student Affairs at McGovern, said of Dr. Hernandez, “She is one of the reasons I solely believe in and support the mission of JAMP.”
As Dr. Hernandez advanced through medical training, she became increasingly aware of how few physicians shared backgrounds similar to her own. During residency, one patient interaction reinforced the importance of culturally responsive care.
She recalled caring for a Spanish-speaking woman who was frightened before a procedure. Dr. Hernandez and another physician sat with the patient, prayed with her, and spoke with her in Spanish. Later, the patient thanked them not only for helping her medically, but for “seeing her.” Experiences like that helped shape Dr. Hernandez’s decision to pursue anesthesiology and deepen her commitment to advocacy, mentorship, and service.
Recently, she served as a resident scholar for the Texas Society of Anesthesiologists during the 89th Texas Legislative Session, where she spoke about physician shortages and the importance of programs that strengthen pathways into medicine.
“Programs like JAMP are not charitable initiatives,” Dr. Hernandez said. “They are strategic solutions.”
Throughout her remarks, Dr. Hernandez returned repeatedly to the idea that JAMP represents more than academic support. To her, it represents long-term investment in Texas communities and the future physician workforce.
“When you invest in a JAMP scholar, you are not investing in one white coat,” she told council members. “You are investing in every patient they will serve, every student they will mentor, every policy they will influence, and every community they will return to uplift.”
She described herself as “living proof of what happens when vision meets investment,” adding that JAMP “created a bridge where there was once a gap.”
For Dr. Hernandez, the program’s impact extends far beyond her own journey.
Dr. Andrea Hernandez following her remarks to the JAMP Council.
“JAMP is where opportunity meets talent,” she said. “And when that happens, lives change, communities grow stronger, and the future of medicine in Texas is transformed.”
About the author: The Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP) is a special program created by the Texas Legislature to support and encourage highly qualified, economically disadvantaged Texas resident students pursuing a medical education.
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