Mexico City, August 23, 2024.- The Universidad Panamericana is the home of studies of an Olympic medalist. He is Pablo Sastré Obregón, an alumnus of the Panamericana Men's High School and a current medical student at the School of Health Sciences. Faculty of Health Sciences of the same institution, who won the bronze medal in the XXXV International Biology Olympiad (IBO 2024).
Held from July 7 to 14 in Astana, Kazakhstan, Pablo stood out in the competition where he competed against 286 contestants from 76 countries. The competition consisted of theoretical exams of 100 questions to be answered in six hours, as well as practical tests.
"I had to dissect a goat's eye. The truth is, these are things you don't see coming, but, even so, I enjoyed doing it. And then came the award ceremony, when I went up to the podium and won the bronze medal," recalls Pablo about the experience.
Love for Biology
Pablo fell in love with biology in his fifth semester of high school, thanks to his professor, biologist Baldo Altube Moreno, about whom Pablo recalls: "(...) he introduced us to biology by visiting different places to learn about biodiversity systems, and I started to like everything about the human system and biomolecules in other species".
"The truth is incredible everything that biology can offer, especially that is how my taste for medicine was aligned, which is what I am now studying and what I plan to dedicate myself to in the future," says the student.
It was that same teacher who invited him to take part in the Biology Olympiad held in Mexico City: "I enrolled and began my preparation in April and May 2023, and during the contest, Biologist Altube was my tutor during the subsystems stage. Thanks to this, I was selected to continue participating and become part of the national team".
Invaluable support
At the Panamerican High School, Pablo says that he found support not only from his biology teacher, but also from his teacher Edgar Torres Corioriles and coordinatorPablo says that he found support not only from his biology teacher, but also from the teacher Edgar Torres Corioriles and the coordinator Javier Rioja González, who helped him with the delivery of work or absences from class when he needed it for the practices for the Olympiad.
He adds, "as many of you know, both sport and science in Mexico always require financial support, and the truth is that the Prepa of the Universidad Panamericana gave me a hand, it allowed me to travel to Kazakhstan and back, and without that support I think I would not have been able to attend".
However, another unconditional support was that of her mother: "She sacrificed hours of work and vacations, she dedicated time to take me to the training sessions. She was with me at all times, even when I stayed up until one in the morning studying at home and got up at five in the morning to continue preparing. His constant accompaniment and support were crucial to my success," she says.
Long road to IBO 2024
Pablo's road to bronze began in June 2023 with preparation for an Olympics first in Mexico City where 15 winners, including him, advanced to the national stage held in Sinaloa, where the top 10 were chosen.
Subsequently, the now medical student says that those 10 spent a couple of weeks more in Sinaloa receiving additional training, and then, the selection of those who would go to the Iberoamerican and international Olympics was made. So it happened that "I was selected to represent Mexico in the International Olympiad, which culminated in the trip to Kazakhstan," he recalls.
"As a Mexican delegation, the professors in Mexico City, Nuevo Leon and UNAM gave us all the help in the world to complement and strengthen our knowledge. These efforts culminated in the results obtained.
Future prospects
When talking about his future goals, Pablo points out: "the most immediate is to survive each semester and eventually finish my career. Later on, I am interested in doing research throughout my professional career and continue participating in the (biology) olympiad, because I think it is important to encourage young people in science.
The Universidad Panamericana seeks to promote the talent of its students and train highly prepared professionals, who reach the fullness of work and exercise their profession with social responsibility, where the person is always put at the center of everything.
Learn more about the Universidad Panamericana at: https://www.up.edu.mx/sobre-la-universidad-modelo-educativo/
