Jasmine Cha
“I Learned Early on to Be an Advocate”
Two experiences inspired Jasmine Cha to pursue medicine. As a child, she acted as a translator for her Korean-speaking parents and grandparents in medical offices. In high school, she had several knee surgeries. “I grew up translating for my parents and grandparents,” explained Cha. “Later, when I had my own surgeries, I sought out second opinions and met other doctors and witnessed the difference of care you can receive from different practitioners. I learned early on to be an advocate and that made me want to be an advocate for others.”
She graduated from UCLA and majored in biology with a minor in public affairs, a discipline that combines social welfare, public policy, and urban planning. She plans to specialize in community medicine and serving the community is what drew her to TouroCOM. “I volunteered in Los Angeles, but I wanted to experience what it would be like to help a different underserved population and I thought Harlem would be a diverse population.” She recently taught herself graphic design and was hired by a non-profit as a graphic designer. Cha recently travelled to Korea for the first time —and if seeing her parents’ homeland wasn’t a big enough event, her partner proposed to her.
