About Us
Welcome to the Philippine Pre-Medical Association of Hawaiʻi (PPMAH). We are a group of Filipino premedical students who share the common goal of one day becoming future physicians that will care for our communities.
We partner with JABSOM’s Philippine Medical Student Association of Hawaiʻi (PMSAH) and the Philippine Medical Association of Hawaiʻi (PMAH).
Visit our instagram page to see more!
Benefits
Be a part of a premedical community of all stages (first year undergrad to gap years) that are supportive of one another
Receive special mentorship from our Filipino JABSOM medical students, residents and physicians
Receive 1:1 premedical advising from our physician advisors and JABSOM graduates - Dr. Hazel Abinsay (Pediatrics) and Dr. Emilio Ganitano (Critical Care)
Application review, personal statement review, mock-interviews
Community service projects and job opportunities
Opportunities to do medical missions in the Philippines
Collaborate and netowrk with JABSOM medical students and local Filipino physicians
Our Purpose
To build a sense of community among pre-medical students facing the challenges of being pre-med
To engage members in community service projects and gain understanding of the healthcare system
To advocate for underrepresented and underserved communities in Hawaiʻi
To dive into the passion of medicine, healthcare and service to the Filipino community
To equip members with skills and opportunities needed to gain entrance into medical school
To develop future healthcare professionals
Who Can Join
Premedical students from any undergraduate or graduate institution in Hawaiʻi
Gap year students
Premeds who are looking for a supportive and uplifting community to share their premedical journeys with
Collaborative and non-competitive attitude
Filipino ancestry not required
CLICK THE BUTTON TO SIGN UP FOR PPMAH.
SIGNING UP IS FREE.
Meet The Current Officers (2023-2024)
President
Cielo Ann Carnate
Cielo is an undergraduate senior at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she double majors in biology and women's studies. Cielo was born in the Philippines and raised in Oahu, Hawaii, where she enjoys learning her native language and culture. Her interests include mentoring/teaching students, medicine, and conducting scientific research. Other interests include bullet journaling, painting, and reading. Cielo aims to obtain an MD or MD/Ph.D. and will apply to medical school shortly. Through being a part of PPMAH for over a year, Cielo hopes to expand this organization's pre-med community and connections.
Vice President
Rod Neil David
Rod was born in the Philippines and graduated from UH Manoa with a BS in Biology and a minor in Filipino Language and Studies in 2021. He is currently in his gap year preparing to apply for medical school. He spends most of his time obtaining experience that will help him justify his passion for medicine and his community. Rod works as a medical assistant in a pediatrics clinic, is a clinic manager at Seafarers Medical Clinic, and is also working on multiple research projects and volunteer programs. In his free time, Rod loves to play volleyball and hang out with friends and family.
Secretary
Paula Angela Saladino
Aloha everyone! My name is Paula Angela Saladino. I was born and raised on Oʻahu and grew up in Kalihi. I’m a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, majoring in public health. In the future, I want to become a primary care physician and serve communities in Hawaiʻi. My interests in public health and medicine emerged from personal experiences witnessing how social determinants of health greatly influence health outcomes for people in my community. Outside of school, I work as a research assistant, where I explore and strengthen my interests in substance use prevention and rural health. During my free time, I enjoy reading, watching sitcoms with my sister, and attending concerts with friends and family. The last concert I attended was Common Kings, and my all-time favorite sitcom is Modern Family.
I had the privilege of serving as the PPMAH Secretary last year, where I kept track of the organization’s minutes, goals, and other correspondence. I enjoy being involved in this organization because it always feels like family. The executive board, advisors, physicians, and members do a great job of fostering a loving and supportive community. As PPMAH’s Secretary, I aim to use this position to keep members connected with pre-medical opportunities, resources, and events. I hope to continue meeting more PPMAH members and learning how I could be of service to their pre-medical path.
Treasurer Ysabelle Bondocoy
Hello everyone! My name is Ysabelle, but you can call me Izzy. I am a senior at UH Manoa majoring in Biology. I ran for PPMAH’s Treasurer position because over the past year, I have seen the dedication and hard work the PPMAH Officers have put into helping Filipino pre-meds chase their dreams of becoming physicians and I would love to put in my own efforts to help my peers. With my experience of being on UH Manoa’s Katipunan Board for the past 2 years, I know how important finances can be in order to provide quality events for students to network, learn from each other, and overall have an enjoyable experience! You can count on me to put 110% as an officer, as I believe you just have to be EXTRA in everything you do because one day, it’ll count. My experience in other organizations have equipped me with the right tools to also serve on the board of PPMAH. On the other hand, I love going to the beach, cats, fashion, and shopping. My favorite color is blue. My dream school is JABSOM, but if you ask me what specialty I want to be I will give you different answers because I’m not sure yet. Let me get into a school first.
Director of Web Design
Julienne Rose Saladino
Julienne Rose Saladino was born and raised on O'ahu and grew up in the community of Kalihi. She is a second-generation Filipino American and the eldest daughter of immigrant parents who emigrated from Ilocos Norte, Philippines. Julienne graduated from Farrington High School in 2017 and received her bachelor's degree in public health from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa in 2021. She is now a master of public health student specializing in social and behavioral health sciences. Julienne aspires to become a family medicine physician and wants to utilize her public health knowledge in clinical practice to provide community-centered, quality health care to vulnerable populations in Hawaiʻi. Julienne has been a member of PPMAH and is grateful for the opportunities, knowledge, and friendships it has given her. As PPMAH's Director of Web Design, she aims to utilize her position to connect more pre-medical students in Hawai'i. She will also use her experience in website management to share the events and educational materials that PPMAH, PMAH Outreach, and PMAH Foundation produces for the local community. During Julienne’s free time, she loves binge-watching shows and movies with her sister and attending concerts with friends. Her favorite genres of shows and movies are sitcoms, rom coms, and K-dramas. The most recent concerts she attended were the Eras Tour in Los Angeles, CA and the NIKI concert in Honolulu, HI.
Director of Community Partnerships
Reyson Ramos
Hello, my name is Reyson-Jase Mendoza Ramos. I am 20 years old and I am a sophomore at the University of Hawaii at Manoa currently majoring in molecular and cell biology. I am the Director of Community Partnerships for the Philippine Pre-Medical Association of Hawaii. In this position, I help maintain PPMAH and PMAH collaboration efforts which are vital to keeping a strong connection between pre-medical students and physicians. I love going to the gym, creating video content for my social media, spending time with my family and friends, and teaching science. I hope to one day get an MD/PhD to be a physician-scientist practicing in internal medicine as a hematologist/oncologist and work in the UH Cancer Center to expand knowledge in the field of oncology.
Director of Mentorship
Anna Micah Ang
Hello, my name is Micah and I am the Director of Mentorship for PPMAH. I was born and raised by a single mother in the Philippines until I moved to Hawaii at 16 years old. I graduated at UH Manoa with a BS Psychology, Minor in Philippine Language and Literature. Currently making the most of my gap year, I am a Medical Assistant at Adventist Health Castle OBGYN, taking care of female patients of all ages. Last year, I helped revamp PPMAH’s PODS mentorship program. I also volunteer for the Seafarer's Medical Clinic serving fishermen from mostly Southeast Asia with free regular check ups. During my college career at University of Hawaii-LCC, I was an active officer and member of KASAMA, a college organization that promotes rich Filipino culture, civic engagements and academic excellence. On my downtime I enjoy listening to music, watching shows like New Amsterdam and Chicago Med, that always leave me crying but loving medicine even more. I cherish hanging out with my family especially over bbq and karaoke, and tuning into podcasts of various genres such as life, wellness, faith or adulting. I hope to learn more about the unique stories of premeds in their journey to medicine and assist with nurturing it by making mentorship and networking more accessible and worthwhile.
Director of Social Media
Gerald Guittap
Gerald was born and raised in Kalihi, O’ahu, and is a proud 2020 public school graduate of Farrington High School. His parents are immigrants from Ilocos Norte, Philippines, specifically Laoag and Batac. He is a senior at UH Manoa studying B.S. Molecular Cell Biology with a minor in English. Gerald’s life-long goal is to serve as a primary care physician in Hawai’i, working with its diverse and culturally rich population. Gerald has enjoyed his role as a learning assistant for the Department of Mathematics, facilitating discussions on worksheet material with students in courses at UH Manoa as a learning assistant. He is also an advocate for student needs and involvement on campus as Chairperson of the Student Activity and Program Fee Board (SAPFB), helping to allocate over $100,000 per semester to various registered student organizations and programs. Through funding initiatives, Gerald desires to continue his work in advancing UH Manoa as a Native Hawaiian Place of Learning and a community where student basic needs are met. During the lockdown, Gerald developed skills in graphic design and video editing using Final Cut Pro, which started as a hobby. Over time, he used his skills to create posters and flyers to advertise event funding for SAPFB as a social media committee board member. He aims to use these skills as the Director of Social Media to promote PPMAH’s mission to promote a strong sense of community and culture among the Filipino and general Hawai’i population.
Connect with us:
email: ppmah.premed@gmail.com