When Rosyli Reveron-Thorton began medical school at Stanford University this fall, she went there with the solid foundation she built while a student at Cal State San Bernardino.

With undergraduate (2012) and graduate (2014) degrees in biology, and a strong, solid background in research, Reveron-Thorton says, “CSUSB really prepared me for the future in a number of ways.”

The faculty, she says, pushed her to excel. “(They showed me) ‘This is what the world is, this is what medicine will be like. You have to learn how to perform in your top level.’ I really got into the habit of doing that.”

The diversity of the students at CSUSB gave her the opportunity to work and communicate with people from different backgrounds, she says.  “I think that was one of the things that helped me in my (medical school) interviews, that I can talk to a variety of people, whether they be doctors or students, or high school students.”

And the research opportunities available to her and other students provided valuable experience that will serve her well in medical school, primarily her internship at the City of Hope, a premiere cancer treatment and research center, through the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine Bridges to Stem Cell Research Grant.

“My research here, particularly in the CIRM Bridges Scholar Program, took me to another level, and really prepared me to get into places like Yale and Stanford,” Reveron-Thorton says.

One of her CSUSB biology professors, Nicole Bournais-Vardiabasis, recalls that Reveron-Thorton initially questioned whether she belonged, but quickly outgrew that. And after she went to the City of Hope, the professor saw a dramatic change in her student, that she was determined to achieve her goals and would not let anyone keep her from them.

“It is obviously tough to use just one word that represents a human being,” Bournais-Vardiabasis says. “But I would say that Rosy is driven, and that willallow her to have the greatest success.”

An immigrant who came to the U.S. as an infant, Reveron-Thorton says her motivation to succeed stems from the sacrifices her parents made. “The fact that they sacrificed so much, I really have to make the best of my situation, and really accomplish whatever I can to let them know that their sacrifices meant something.”

And CSUSB was the best place for her to begin that journey.

“What you can get here is very, very unique,” she says. “And if you really have a drive to do something or go somewhere, this is the perfect place for you to come. There’s so much diversity here, there’s so much education here, and the opportunities are endless.”

Also watch the video interview at CSUSB Alumni Spotlight: Rosyli Reveron Thornton.