I was destined to be a doctor and work with the Red Cross

By Mary Brant, Regional Communications Manager

During Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate the rich heritage and significant contributions that Hispanic-Americans have made to our country and the American Red Cross. We salute the service of all our Hispanic and Latinx volunteers. We recently caught up with Central and Mid Coast Maine Chapter Board member Dr. Bruno Salazar-Perea, who shared his story of how he discovered the Red Cross early in his life.

Raised in Mexico City – the son of a single, working mother – his family's resources were limited. Bruno attended an all-male catholic school that held frequent social events with the nearby all-girl catholic school, but it took money to attend those events. This presented a challenge, but Bruno soon learned from a resourceful friend that the Red Cross sponsored a group called The First Aid Brigade, and students participating in that group were allowed to attend school social events free of charge. He and his friend quickly joined.

But The First Aid Brigade was much more than a class teaching basic first aid. In Mexico, the Red Cross continues to play an integral roll in that country’s healthcare system, providing hospital and emergency services. What Bruno thought would be just a first aid class turned out to be an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) training and the first glimmer of his career path. During his junior and senior high school years’ he volunteered three times a week to cover 911 calls in Mexico City, the sixth-largest metropolitan area in the world. Bruno found the work exciting as well as challenging and it forged him into what he is now. High school graduation day arrived and he was about to embark on a career in mechanical engineering until a friend’s grandmother said to him, “Why do you want to do that? The only thing you talk about is the Red Cross and the work you are doing with them in ambulance services. You should go into the medical field.”

Light bulb moment – she was right – and the direction of his life took a sharp turn.

Bruno enrolled in medical school, where he met his U.S-born partner A dozen years later, after completing a residency in pediatrics and forming a family, they returned to the United States. In the U.S. he began teaching at a career college where he discovered his love for teaching. Knowing of his medical training, one of his colleagues said to him, "you should think of joining the Red Cross; your training and experience would be so helpful to them.” She had no previous knowledge of the influence the Red Cross had on his early life.

"It seems that I was destined to be a doctor and destined to work with the Red Cross, and both have been such positive influences in my life," said Bruno. "I am proud of my Hispanic heritage and hope what I have accomplished can inspire other young Hispanic people to pursue their dreams and use those dreams to inspire others to always aim high and give back through volunteer work with organizations like the American Red Cross. No other institution has impacted my life more than the Red Cross.”