Liliana Madrid Larrañaga ’26 navigated her transition into college by finding opportunities to connect with her academic and personal interests, serving as a valuable resource to her peers, and taking steps toward her dream career working in women’s healthcare.
Although both Liliana’s father (Juan Fidel Larrañaga ’95) and brother (Joaquin Madrid Larrañaga ’23) attended Occidental before her, when she first arrived on campus she was still a little anxious. “I was nervous about meeting other people like myself, making friends, and making deep connections,” says the Albuquerque native.
But Liliana, a biochemistry major and public health minor, quickly found community through her classes as she met other STEM students and, in particular, other women in STEM. They became some of her closest connections at Oxy, she says.
She admits that her transition to college academics as a first-year wasn’t easy as she adjusted to a load of difficult STEM classes. “However, I was able to find resources like peer-led tutoring and I just started visiting my professors. A lot of them have been super helpful, and professors love it when students come to their office hours and get help.”
A highlight of her first year was participating in Dance Pro, one of the biggest events of the year at Oxy, in which students choreograph and perform original dance pieces as part of a big showcase each spring.
“Dance Pro was great because of the welcoming community. You have beginners as well as people who have been dancing their whole lives. Seeing everyone come together in such a big performance was really amazing to watch, but also to be a part of.”
Liliana gravitated toward other extracurriculars as well. In Fall 2023, Emmons Wellness Center’s Health Promotion Program launched the Peer Power Program (PPP) with five student peer health educators. Their role is to share skills, resources, and education with fellow Oxy students through workshops, events, outreach, and training.
Becoming a peer health educator at Emmons allowed Liliana to meet others who are interested in healthcare and helping others.
“I get to sit down with students and have a peer-to-peer conversation about whatever is going through their head, whatever they're wondering about, and I serve as an overall resource for them. Students learn best from and feel most heard by their peers, which is why it’s so important to have these kinds of programs on campus.”
Students learn best from and feel most heard by their peers, which is why it’s so important to have these kinds of programs on campus.
This work connects to her academic interest in public health. “Eventually, I would like to be a healthcare provider for women in rural New Mexico,” she says. “With that comes connecting people to resources and providing holistic care, which I’m really passionate about.”
Through last summer’s UEP/UEPI Summer Internship Program, Liliana interned at Essential Access Health in Los Angeles. There, she got certified as a pregnancy options counselor and a family planning health worker. “Through this internship, I learned a lot about different contraception options, and I really wanted to take that information and bring it back to campus.”
Working at Emmons with Health Promotion Specialist Laura Fettig, Liliana put together a resource guide for sexual health. She researched and compiled the information and created an educational brochure that was shared with Oxy students via social media and the Occidental website.
To further hone her leadership skills, Liliana applied for and was accepted into the College’s prestigious Obama Scholars Program as a sophomore. Scholars participate in a series of curated experiences that helps propel them toward careers of leadership and impact as they pursue the public good.
“This past summer, I was on campus interning with Emmons, and through the Obama Scholars program I attended talks by professionals and leaders in their fields, in addition to other opportunities to learn and grow as a leader at Oxy and beyond.”
So what’s next for Liliana? This semester she is in Chile, studying urban public health and indigenous practices through an SIT study abroad program called “Public Health, Traditional Medicine, and Community Empowerment.”
“I am excited to see the implications of public health work in rural areas because my dream career is to deliver babies in rural New Mexico, specifically providing for those underrepresented in health care such as Indigenous Americans, immigrants, and women of color.”
She is well on her way to a bright future.