When an unimaginable tragedy occurs, knowing you’re not alone and you have the support you need to get through it can make all the difference. Joshua Tejada knows this first-hand.
Tejada was an undergraduate biology student in the College of Natural & Agricultural Sciences (CNAS) when both of his parents passed away. Now, to honor their legacy and help other CNAS students who experience a similar life-altering tragedy during the course of their studies, Tejada has established an endowment through the Mi Doctora Foundation. Tejada founded the foundation, named in honor of his late mother, to cement his parents’ legacy.
“I established the endowment at UCR to give back to students who have gone through something similar or another life-altering tragedy,” said Tejada, who graduated from UCR in 2023. “My parents’ legacy was hard for me to live up to. I asked myself, ‘How could I do good by them?’ That’s why I established the foundation. My way of thinking is that if I can get through this, I know other kids who are going through something similar can, too.”
To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate CNAS degree program and be in good academic standing. Preference will be given to those who have experienced the loss of one or both parents or legal guardians, but students who have experienced another great loss or tragedy may also apply.
After losing his father suddenly to heart disease during his freshman year and his mother, a primary care physician, to pancreatic cancer less than three years later, Tejada found support from the UCR community. “I love UCR and when I lost my dad, I took advantage of a lot of campus resources,” Tejada said. “I joined clubs and my professors were very understanding. It feels like home to me.”
Tejada will enter UCR’s School of Medicine in fall 2025 with plans to follow his mother’s footsteps into primary care or become a cardiothoracic surgeon to help people with heart conditions like his father’s.
“Because of my mom, I understand the world of medicine and I was always interested in science,” Tejada said. “But it wasn’t until my father was in the hospital that it became clear what I was called to do.”
Tejada was inspired by the surgeon who operated on his father, who he said did everything he could to save his father during a grueling 12-hour surgery.
“Even though my dad didn’t survive, it made me want to go into this field and save some other person’s parents. It went from me being interested in science to a passion,” he said.
In the year between earning his undergraduate degree and attending medical school, Tejada has been gaining valuable experience in a medical office in Los Angeles, where he does administrative work, interacts with patients, and ensures the office is running smoothly.
Tejada and his younger sister, Sarah Tejada, plan to work together at the Mi Doctora Foundation, and their goal is to expand the endowment to help more students with scholarships and eventually establish a free medical clinic.
“I thought our parents’ legacy could further impact the community by opening a free clinic, providing educational resources and medicine to patients and groups of underserved students who need it,” Tejada said.
For now, it’s enough for Tejada to know that the endowment to UCR will not only provide students with valuable resources, but also help them find their way through tragedy.
“My hope is that it will help students in similar situations with educational resources, and it fills a void or gap,” Tejada said. “But I also want them to know that life does not end when these tragedies happen. They can go on to fulfill their dreams, carry their parents with them, and make them proud.”
