SPH Student Monica Padilla Receives UIC’s Lincoln Laureate Award
Monica Padilla, a double major in public health and biological sciences and a member of UIC’s Honors College, is UIC’s 2024 Lincoln Academy Student Laureate. The award is given to seniors – just one from each college in Illinois – who have followed in the path of former President Abraham Lincoln by committing themselves to leadership and positive social change. During her four years at the university, the premedical student dedicated much of her time in and out of the classroom to improving public health in underserved communities.
Padilla’s journey reflects her deep commitment to both medicine and her community. Aspiring to be a bilingual physician, she hopes to use her skills to create lasting, accessible healthcare solutions for her neighborhood. Her vision is to build a sustainable support network that empowers her Little Village community and ensures that every family has the resources they need for a healthier future.
In addition to being a Lincoln Laureate, Padilla earned a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship to study in Taiwan this winter and a scholarship from the Chicago Latino Caucus Foundation. She’s a recipient of the Hilda Lopez-Arce Undergraduate Scholarship and received a STEM scholarship from the SBB Research Group Foundation. She was singled out for her work in increasing the enrollment of Latinas in the breast cancer study and for collecting 300 signatures in support of the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Program for the American Cancer Society.
Read the full UIC Today article here.