On Saturday, the UC Riverside School of Medicine welcomed the community to campus for Open House 2026. Held from 10 am until 2 pm, the annual event showcased the SOM and illuminated the path to pursuing a career in medical fields.

Despite the possibility of rain, over 1,000 people attended the event, including medical school applicants, newly admitted SOM students, students from schools in the area, and their families. The SOM event also overlapped with Highlander Day at UCR, giving more prospective students the opportunity to explore pathways into medicine.

Open House 2026 began with a welcome from Deborah Deas, MD, MPH, the vice chancellor for health sciences and the Mark and Pam Rubin dean of the School of Medicine, to a standing-room-only crowd. Throughout the day, tours of the SOM Education II building and Center for Simulated Patient Care highlighted the school’s learning environments and cutting-edge technology for training future physicians.

Mia Niccol came to Open House to learn more about the SOM’s curriculum as a prospective student. Currently a combat medic specialist in the US Army Reserves, Niccol said she hopes to work with veterans, particularly in areas like Riverside where they represent a significant population. “I think they are an underserved population, and it's really important for me to want to serve this community and serve them,” she said, in line with the SOM’s mission to improve healthcare for the underserved in the region. “I think that's something that I really want to pour my heart into as a physician.”

The event also included faculty presentations and panels with medical, biomedical sciences, and master of public health students to discuss their experiences and answer questions.

“The event is important because it gives the community and prospective students an opportunity to learn about all of the programs here at the School of Medicine, and really allows them to explore their options,” said Cristina Gonzalez, a project manager in the SOM Department of Social Medicine, Population, and Public Health.

This includes career paths beyond becoming a physician. “Growing up, everyone knows what a doctor is, but they don't all necessarily know what public health is,” said Gonzalez, who helped represent the SOM’s Master of Public Health (MPH) Program at Open House. “It's about not only educating the community on public health, but also that it's an option for them to pursue their passion to improve the health of the community in a different way,” she said.

One student Gonzalez spoke to was Sreeharshini Kadiyala. The second-year UCR undergraduate student hopes to become a physician, but is interested in potentially studying for a master of public health degree first. “Getting that training will really help me to prepare better for medical school, because I want to know why I'm treating my patients and why they're there--and not just one person, but an entire community,” said Kadiyala, who’s interested in accessible, quality, and affordable health care.

The best part of the event for Kadiyala was visiting the different booths, such as the one for the MPH program. “Coming here feels very intimidating at first because there's so many accomplished people around,” Kadiyala said. “But the truth is, everyone is excited and they want to help us, so it was really nice to just talk to people.”

For Joe Corilla Lazo, the event provided an opportunity to learn more about the admissions process and life as a medical student at UCR. After working as an engineer for several years, the Fontana native decided to switch careers to something that would help people more directly. “The best way I thought I could do that was through medicine, to be able to help people who are in need of help and people who are sick,” he said.

Lazo plans to apply to medical school in the spring and hopes to stay in the area, making UCR and its mission a good match. “I grew up here, so it's home, and I'd want to be able to give back to the people here as well,” he said.