Rio Rancho High School student part of Congress of Future Medical Leaders

RIO RANCHO — A Rio Rancho High School student recently returned from the Boston area, where she participated in a distinguished program with thousands of other students aspiring to become doctors.

Aliana Santistevan, an incoming sophomore, was a delegate to the Congress of Future Medical Leaders from June 25-27, at the University of Massachusetts Lowell campus. Alongside more than 4,000 students nationwide, Santistevan learned about medical research from Nobel Prize laureates, received advice about medical school from higher education leaders, and watched a surgery streamed virtually as part of the program organized by the National Academy Of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists.

“This is a crucial time in America when we need more doctors and medical scientists who are even better prepared for a future that is changing exponentially,” the academy wrote in a news release. “Focused, bright and determined students like Aliana Santistevan are our future, and she deserves all the mentoring we can give her.”

Santistevan, who dreams of being an orthopedic surgeon, became interested in medicine outside of the classroom, first studying psychology before moving to physical health. Watching a few “Grey’s Anatomy” episodes with her mother, Doreen, also helped.

“They would see cases they could fix that no one else could,” Santistevan said, adding she would research portions of the show that portrayed medicine inaccurately. Santistevan admitted her research only made her more interested in medical dramas, but enough of the academics rubbed off on her to also pursue a career in medicine.

Santistevan’s interest in orthopedics only increased when her father had surgery on both his knees and one of her two brothers, a student athlete at RRHS, began experiencing problems with his joints.

“I like that bones are the more predictable aspect of the human body, and it covers more of the body than other (parts),” Santistevan said, adding with a laugh that knees are “really fun.”

Earlier this year, Santistevan was excited to receive a letter in the mail from the National Academy saying she had been nominated as a delegate. She had visited Boston before on a school field trip, but this year, her trip to the Northeast was about more than taking in the sights.

The portion of the program she enjoyed most was watching a shoulder replacement surgery as doctors answered questions from the delegates in real time. Santistevan did not ask any questions or experience a fainting spell, but she learned a lot, having never watched surgery before.

“What I learned was exactly how much knowledge you have to have (to perform surgery),” said Santistevan, noting she recorded the procedure for reference. “One of my biggest questions in my head while watching surgery is how (doctors) would know exactly when to stop, where blood vessels are (and) how careful they need to be with muscles and tissue.”

Her mother, Doreen Santistevan, an employee at Southwest Dental in Rio Rancho, recalled receiving a phone call from Santistevan following the surgery.

“She called me and said, ‘Oh mom! I want to do this!’ (and) ‘I know I can do this,’” Doreen said.

Doreen called it “surreal” that her daughter was nominated to the program.

“That’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” she added. “We’re very proud and confident in her capabilities to become a surgeon because she’s very motivated and self-sufficient.”

Santistevan plans to enroll in several Advanced Placement courses, including ones in anatomy, at RRHS before her next medical adventure — flying to Greece in July 2026 as one of 50 students nationwide in another program organized by the National Academy.