What she’s into:
Jasmine is always on the run — literally. She runs for Marquette’s varsity track and field team, is active in her church, volunteers regularly and maintains a 4.0 GPA. She’s been a straight-A student since the seventh grade.
Dedication:
When she toured Marquette’s biomedical sciences facilities as a high school student, she saw the gross anatomy lab. She found it so fascinating that she took the tour three weekends in a row just so she could see it again and again.
Personal philosophy:
“My whole family has always said, aim the highest you can go, so I always aim for 100 percent with school and with all the things I do. A lot of times people doubt themselves and don’t aim as high as they could.”
Faculty relationships:
Jasmine has even played kickball with some of her biomedical sciences professors. “At Marquette, I’m actually getting to know my professors, not just as teachers but as people.”
Advice for freshmen:
“Concentrate on your grades but have fun and get involved. The more people you meet, the more opportunities you’ll come across.”
Jasmine Zapata
Ever since the first grade, Jasmine knew her heart’s ambition: to be a doctor. Now at Marquette, her dream is closer than ever.
She knew Marquette’s rigorous biomedical sciences program, one of the few of its kind in the country, would prepare her for medical school. But the university has opened doors she never expected.
Her sophomore year, she traveled to Honduras with Marquette’s Global Medical Relief chapter. The group went from rural village to village with their makeshift pharmacy, treating more than 2,300 patients and distributing 1.5 tons of medicine. Jasmine will never forget laughing, singing and dancing with children from a Honduran orphanage.
“I felt like they were doing the community service for me because it just changed me so much,” she says. “I knew this is what I have to. This is where I’m supposed to be in life, helping people who need it the most. I’ve always said that, but I’m starting to live it and understand what that means.”
She’s getting hands-on experience closer to home. She volunteers at the Sexual Assault Treatment Center that is based in the emergency room of Aurora Sinai Medical Center, just blocks from campus. She also works as a research assistant alongside biomedical sciences professor Dr. Doug Lobner. Jasmine visits the lab even when she’s not working.
“It’s just another place where I can feel at home; it’s like another family,” she says. “I feel like I have lots of little family bases at Marquette.”
Quick Facts About Marquette
| Identity: | Catholic, Jesuit, private |
| Established: | 1881 |
| Location: | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Undergraduate: | 8,048 |
| Postgraduate: | 3,500 |
| Campus: | Urban, 90 acres |
| Athletics: | 14 NCAA Division I teams (Big East) |
| Colors: | Blue and Gold |
