Daniel is the Public Health Nurse at The American Indian Health Service of Chicago. He is from Southern California. He has been a nurse since the winter of 2022/2023, when he started in the Surgical ICU at Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Lake View. He attended nursing school at the Lincoln Park campus of DePaul University, during which he split his time between studying, working as a nursing assistant at St Francis Hospital in Evanston, and volunteering with community organizations serving disadvantaged teens.

Before pursuing nursing, Daniel studied Neuroscience at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois. While he loved his field of study initially, he was ultimately turned off by the ethical dilemmas presented by animal research. He thus shifted from pursuing a postgraduate education in science to one in healthcare. Upon graduating, Daniel took an additional “post-baccalaureate” year to take care of the rat colony for the psych department and assistant teach. In exchange, he was able to begin his prerequisite courses for, and thus his journey towards nursing school.

Daniel is excited to transition from the acute care/inpatient environment to a role in community/public health nursing. While he cherishes the time he spent with patients and families in the critical care environment, he believes primary care and preventative medicine ultimately align better with his goals and values as a healthcare provider. Before working in healthcare, Daniel worked as a tutor, a teaching assistant, a barista, a bike mechanic, a gas station attendant, and a custodian. His experience working in direct, clint-facing roles has shaped him into an easy going, patient-centered caregiver.

Daniel enjoys running, rock climbing, reading, and playing guitar in his free time. On the weekends, he likes going for walks with his girlfriend and video calling his family in LA, especially his niece, Aya.