Spring Commencement Spotlight
Sarah Ortega | College of Arts and Sciences
I don’t remember every detail of the tests, but I remember the feeling.
I was sitting in exam rooms, waiting for answers that never really came. I was young, dealing with fainting spells and symptoms no one could fully explain. Doctor visits became routine, stretching from Memphis to Ecuador, wherever my family thought we might find clarity. Most of the time, the response was uncertainty. Sometimes it stopped at “I don’t know.”
That stuck with me.
What could’ve been discouraging ended up doing the opposite. I became fascinated by the gaps, by the questions no one seemed to chase far enough.
I didn’t just want answers for myself — I wanted to be the person who kept going until someone had them. That idea started shaping the classes I took, the risks I was willing to take, and eventually, the path that led me into both medicine and the military.
Now, as I stand just a few days from graduating from the University of Memphis — and from commissioning as an Army officer — I can trace almost everything back to those moments. To what uncertainty demanded of me: curiosity, resilience and the willingness to step into situations where the answers aren’t obvious.
Growing Up Driven
I was born in Connecticut, but Memphis is home. I grew up here with my mom, who raised me on her own and worked nonstop to make sure I had opportunities. Watching her shaped how I approached everything. There wasn’t room to coast.
She kept me busy with sports like karate, gymnastics, cheer, taekwondo and even lacrosse later on. I ended up earning a black belt in taekwondo, but more than that, I learned discipline. If something wasn’t done right, I did it again. And again. That mindset stuck.
By high school, I joined JROTC, and that’s when the military became real to me. At the same time, I was loading up on AP and dual enrollment classes, mostly focused on sciences like psychology, anatomy and medical terminology. I knew I was interested in medicine, but I wasn’t completely sure yet.
There was also a practical side to my decisions. My mom hadn’t gone to college, and I didn’t want her carrying that burden for me. When I heard the military could cover my education, it made sense. I enlisted at 17, trained as a combat medic and somewhere in that process, everything clicked. I realized I didn’t just like medicine — I loved it.
Choosing the Harder Path
Becoming a combat medic wasn’t the easiest introduction to healthcare, but that was the point. I’ve always been drawn to high-pressure environments, the kind where you’re forced to figure out who you are quickly. I wanted to know if I could handle it at its most intense.
Training confirmed it. I earned my EMT certification and got real exposure to patient care, and it solidified what I had been building toward. This wasn’t a maybe anymore.
When I got to the University of Memphis, I was already a semester behind because of training. Then came another decision point: I was scheduled for deployment to Kuwait. At the same time, I knew how long the road to becoming a doctor would be. Adding another year away didn’t make sense for where I wanted to go.
That’s when I chose ROTC.
It gave me a path to become an officer while continuing my education, and it ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve made. It challenged me in ways I didn’t expect. Physically, of course, but also as a leader. By senior year, I was helping run the program.
What It All Adds Up To
When I was named a Distinguished Military Graduate and ranked in the top 10% nationally, I didn’t see it coming. I thought I was somewhere in the middle. It took someone else walking me through everything I had done for it to really sink in.
That’s the thing about staying busy — you don’t always stop to measure how far you’ve come.
What stands out to me now isn’t just the workload or the recognition. It’s the people. My mom, who supported every decision even when it scared her. My lieutenant colonel, who became more than a mentor and always had his door open. The friends and fellow cadets who turned into a second family.
Next, I’ll be serving in the Medical Service Corps while working toward medical school. I’m taking a gap year to prepare for the MCAT, continuing at the pediatric clinic and building toward the bigger goal.
I don’t know exactly where I’ll end up — what state, what country, what role — but I do know the kind of doctor I want to be. The one who doesn’t stop at uncertainty. The one who keeps going, because someone’s still waiting for an answer.
