When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Alex Gramajo was a 15-year-old high school student working part-time at a fast-food drive through in Milwaukee’s South Side, where he grew up as the child of Latino immigrants.
Gramajo experienced first-hand the barriers faced by minority communities in his historically working-class community, from language gaps to under-resourced clinics.
His parents, who had construction jobs, were deemed essential workers in 2020, as was he as a McDonald’s employee. Gramajo recalls giving free meals to nurses and doctors.
“Just seeing them go to work every day was inspiring, and how my parents struggled with how to stay safe while working,” he recalls.
Always interested in art, Gramajo began working for a nonprofit art museum that received a grant to create visuals to help South Side residents become educated about the health concerns COVID-19 posed to the community.
His hand-sketched drawings depicting what appropriate PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) to wear to reduce the risk of becoming infected by the coronavirus were plastered throughout the South Side.
When interests align with passions
These experiences, along with a lifelong interest in science, sparked Gramajo’s decision to pursue a career in public health and health administration, with a focus on building more equitable healthcare systems.
“This is not only noble, but urgently needed in our dynamic healthcare industry,” says Adjunct Associate Professor Amy Nguyen Howell, one of Gramajo’s key professors at the USC Price School of Public Policy.
Gramajo graduates on May 15 during the USC Price School’s Commencement ceremony. He will earn a Master of Health Administration (MHA) degree and a bachelor’s degree in health promotion and disease prevention from the USC Keck School of Medicine.
He’s the recipient of a four-year Trustee Scholarship, one of USC’s most prestigious merit awards that covers full tuition for undergraduate students who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement and leadership.
Dr. Nguyen, a member of the USC Price School’s MHA faculty for more than a decade, had Gramajo in her intensive Quality of Care course last summer. She calls him “one of the most exceptional emerging leaders I’ve encountered.”
Based on first impressions, Dr. Nguyen recalls with a laugh, such an assessment was not expected.
Gramajo emailed Dr. Nguyen to tell her he had to miss the first in-person section of the class because of a family reunion in Guatemala.
The in-person part of the course accounted for 40% of the grade.
Dr. Nguyen rolled her eyes. Gramajo, she recalls, sounded like many of the less-engaged students she’s had over the years.
However, Gramajo decided to cut his trip short and return to USC in time to take the entire class.
“It ended up being one of the most interesting classes I’ve taken in the master’s program, and I really enjoyed it,” he recalls.
Says Dr. Nguyen: “He was nothing what I expected. He was respectful and engaging and very participatory.”
For his final group project, Gramajo worked on a quality project for Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA), developing strategies to reduce surgical site infections and implementing new workflows that could reduce emergency room admissions. He recently completed a one-year performance-improvement internship at CHLA.
“What makes him one of the most unique students I’ve had is his genuine interest that aligns with his passion,” Dr. Nguyen says.
A natural leader
Gramajo was valedictorian at Rufus King International High School in Milwaukee. He’s always been a high achiever.
“I like doing things to the best of my ability,” he says. “I don’t know how to explain it.”
At USC, Gramajo served in leadership positions in student government and in clubs including the Latino Student Assembly and his fraternity, Phi Delta Theta. He currently volunteers at a senior center where he teaches Spanish classes.
Gramajo plans to pursue a career as a strategy consultant for hospital systems.
Dr. Nguyen has no doubt he will be a success because of his equity-driven purpose, quality improvement expertise, and proven leadership.
“He’s all in,” she says.
