Dr. Michelle Arevalo

It was in Iraq, as a platoon leader in the Army’s Medical Service Corps, when the future Dr. Michelle Arevalo had her “aha” moment.

“I valued my role in our lifesaving mission, but I hated not being able to touch patients,” recalled the U.S. Military Academy graduate from St. Louis. “Like any good lieutenant, I’d trained alongside my medics and could do ‘a few things’ in a pinch. The thing was, there was never a pinch.”

She asked her mom to send Medical College Admission Test study guides to Iraq.

After five years of active duty, the Army Captain enrolled at UT Southwestern Medical School, intent on becoming a trauma surgeon. She soon found it wasn’t like her military setting, where young, healthy soldiers only came to her team in a true trauma emergency. “That wasn’t a realistic idea of what practice would be as a general surgeon in civilian life,” she said. “Even though I enjoyed surgery, I felt there was something missing. But when I rotated in Ob/Gyn, I found it. I loved every second of it.”

She recalls racing to the operating room for an urgent cesarean section. “I stood in the corner and watched two residents take out a baby in about 25 seconds. It was easily the coolest thing I had ever seen in my life.”

Dr. Arevalo is the recipient of the 2018 Southwestern Gynecologic Assembly Award, which is given annually to an outstanding UT Southwestern graduate pursuing a career in the specialty.

“The Southwestern Gynecologic Assembly Award is given to a student who demonstrates scholarship, leadership, and a deep interest in women’s health care, and Michelle exceeds all of these qualities,” said Dr. Alicia N. Kiszka, Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology. “She is an exceptional student and a junior inductee of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. As a West Point graduate and an Army veteran, Michelle has a take-charge attitude, which came into good use when helping teach her peers the intricacies of the pelvic exam. Women’s health has become her passion, and her enthusiasm for the specialty is evident, from the OR to the clinic.”

In addition to Dr. Kiszka, Dr. Arevalo’s mentors include Dr. Linda Baker, Professor of Urology and in the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development and Director of Pediatric Urology Research; Dr. Mary Jane Pearson, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology; and Dr. Patricia Bergen, who recently retired as Professor of Surgery.

“I think the world of them,” Dr. Arevalo said. “They are my heroes. I’m very lucky to have them as my mentors.”

Dr. Arevalo and husband Juan, an attorney, will celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary in July. “We met at West Point disassembling an M16 rifle,” she says. “Juan was the first person who told me he thought I should be a doctor. That was 12 years ago, and at the time I didn’t believe him. He definitely helped get me here.”

For the last three years, both have enjoyed their involvement in Big Brothers Big Sisters. They also love being outdoors and traveling, with Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Peru, Paris, London, Rome, and Panama already checked off their list.

Next stop for Dr. Arevalo is Wilmington, North Carolina, for an Ob/Gyn residency at New Hanover Regional Medical Center. “It’s a really good program in a beautiful area and I am thrilled,” Dr. Arevalo said. “I just can’t wait!”