NAU 2024 distinguished senior goes to medical school

YUMA, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - Northern Arizona University Yuma recognized one student with the 2024 distinguished senior award.

Isaac Lopez is graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Natural Resource Sciences with a 4.0 cumulative GPA. Now, he’s excited to go to med school.

"I really like to study, and I like to learn about a lot of different things, so that’s really what kept me motivated. And then also looking forward to the future- what I can do with my Bachelor's degree,” said Isaac Lopez.

He said he was inspired by his passion for learning and his family.

The love for science runs in his family. His mom is a nurse practitioner at the cancer center, and his dad is an EMT. His brother is also a medical student, and his sister is a nurse.

His work was accepted for presentation at the National Council of Undergraduate Conference in Long Beach. He has done four research symposiums in the past two months.

He said his professor has helped push him to research who shared how proud he is of Isaac.

“I think whatever he sets his eyes on, he’ll do exceptionally well. He has a great personality, he works very well with everybody," said Dr. Francisco Villa, an NAU Biological Natural Resource Sciences professor. "So I think he’s gonna end up doing very well. And if he pursues science, I think he’ll be a great scientist as well."

And even with the honor, Isaac still remains humble and wants to recognize the other hard-working seniors about to graduate this week.

"We have a lot of people who work very hard both in and out of school, so I kinda wanna draw the focus away from me, but also just look at the other students in this program. And this program itself like it’s a very successful and very challenging program here in Yuma, and I’m really grateful for it," said Isaac.

All of Isaac’s hard work paid off. He will be attending medical school at the University of Arizona in Tucson this fall.