People of the Pack: Rachel Roth

Rachel Roth is a sophomore medical biology major from Lodi, California.

Morgan Matzen: What do you hope to do with your major?

Rachel Roth: I hope to become a dermatologist or surgeon.

MM: What are you most passionate about in life?

RR: Just trying to live life to the fullest and just trying to keep every day going. I help people and that kind of stuff. I like to spend my time volunteering if I can, but I usually do it when I’m home in California.

MM: You’re from California? What brought you here?

RR: I have family that lives around here. My grandma.

MM: What do you like about your grandma?

RR: She is the kindest, most generous person you will ever meet. She just does everything for everyone else and then she thinks about herself.

MM: What is something she’s done for you?

RR: She let me live with her for my senior year of high school in Beresford so that way I could get residency to come here.

MM: What goals do you have besides becoming a dermatologist or a surgeon?

RR: I don’t know, probably just being able to have my own family. That’s one of those difficult things with balancing (a career), is trying to be able to find someone who is willing to be not exactly first on your plate when you’re coming out of medical school. It demands a lot of time, and not a lot of people want to be second to your job for a little while.

MM: What kind of person are you looking for to start a family with?

RR: Oh, I don’t know. I don’t have a type about anything. It’s whoever I end up liking. Someone who can make me laugh, because I have a lot of stress in my life. Everything is so serious, so I need somebody who is going to make me not serious all the time.

MM: Do you have a big family yourself?

RR: I have two sisters, they are 16 years older than me so I am the baby of the family. I feel like I am already a mom because they have two kids each, so I’ve been an aunt since I was five. I feel like I’ve had kids since I was five because I would take care of them and everything. They lived near me, and I was what my sister likes to call her “live-in nanny” because I would come and stay with her to take care of the kids to give her some time off. I very much care for my family and try to take care of them in any way I can. Part of that when I lived in California was trying to take the stress off of my parents. I would do everything around the house: cooking, cleaning, yard work, taking out the trash, grocery shopping.

MM: What do you like about your parents?

RR: My dad is quiet, and when he needs to, he will get out there and get on somebody’s case. I really like that he can stand up for me when I need it. I am the carbon copy of my mom. We are one and the same. She’s my best friend. We look very much the same. Our personalities are spot-on. We have this crazy humor and we can just sit with each other and finish each others’ sentences all day. Most people just can’t handle us when we’re together.