The daughter of two Central-American immigrants who came to the United States to serve in the military, Shem has had the opportunity to travel and gain exposure to a variety of different cultures. These experiences combined with Shem’s love for people and traveling led her to join several overseas mission trips to Latin America. She now aspires to become a physician, with the eventual goal of returning abroad to practice medicine in underserved communities.

While completing her B.S. in Human Nutrition, Foods & Exercise at Virginia Tech, Shem discovered a deep passion for nutrition and had the wonderful opportunity to intern last summer with dieticians at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, MD. She also served on the executive board for her university’s chapter of the American Medical Student Association as well as on the leadership team for Cru, her campus’s largest student organization.

Shem relishes every opportunity to go hiking, loves trying out new baking recipes and plans to volunteer with the Roanoke Refugee Partnership.