School: Wingate University

Hometown: Charlotte, NC

Roots: Mexico

Cristo Carrasco Mendoza

Born in Mexico, Cristo Carrasco Mendoza immigrated to the United States when he was 3 years old. He is currently a pre-medical student at Wingate University, majoring in Biology and minoring in Economics. At Wingate, Cristo is a member of a pre-medical club, a philanthropic fraternity, and a scholar program geared towards Economics minors and entrepreneurial students. Outside of the classroom, he volunteers with the American Red Cross and the Latin American Coalition. Passionate about making college more accessible for undocumented students, Cristo founded DreamersNC, a community organization providing resources for DACA students pursuing higher education, and hopes to develop the organization into a high school mentoring program. He also maintains a website called dreamersnc.com that shares resources on scholarships, fellowships, internships, and research opportunities open to undocumented students. This year, Cristo will conduct research on the factors preventing Mexican and Central American immigrants in Union County from accessing medical care. He has also been selected for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute health professionals scholar-intern program, and will work as an interpreter for a health clinic in his community next summer. Cristo aspires to increase access to health care for immigrant communities. He plans to return to Charlotte as a physician and open a community health clinic for immigrants, regardless of status, insurance, or ability to pay, as well as advocate for health policy reform.