Match Day 2026: For Ceci Amaro, Medicine Is About Community
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine student Cecilia “Ceci” Amaro reflects on service, leadership and the communities that shaped her journey to becoming a physician.
Cecilia “Ceci” Amaro has a deep-rooted sense of pride in her home city of Miami. She was born at Baptist Hospital, attended the University of Miami and will soon earn her medical degree from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. When she graduates this spring, she will become the first doctor in her family.
“I always knew I wanted to serve the community that raised me,” Amaro said. “Miami has shaped who I am.”
Rooted in Miami, Inspired to Serve
Growing up in a close-knit Cuban-American household, family was central to daily life. Her parents were her constant support system and her siblings were her closest friends. That sense of community extended beyond home. Amaro attended Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart, an all-girls school, where community service was not extracurricular but expected. One of the school’s guiding principles, “social awareness which impels to action,” stuck with her.
In high school, that principle took shape during medical mission trips to the Dominican Republic. As a volunteer, Amaro worked alongside Miller School students, watching them deliver care with confidence and compassion. The experience was formative.
“I remember seeing how knowledgeable they were and how they connected with patients,” she said. “I thought, that’s who I want to be. That’s where I want to train.”
When she was accepted to UM for undergraduate studies, Amaro was invited to apply early to the Miller School via the Medical Scholars Pathway Program. By sophomore year, she had committed to a path many students spend years debating. It was early, she admits, but it felt right.
Finding Purpose Through Community Service at the Miller School
Community service remained at the center of her medical education at the Miller School. Early in medical school, Amaro joined the Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Department of Community Service (DOCS), the student-run network of free clinics and health fairs. She began at the San Juan Bosco Clinic, which primarily sees Spanish-speaking patients, managing weekly operations and specialty nights. She quickly became immersed.
“I fell in love with that patient population,” she said, “and with the relationships.”
Her leadership responsibilities expanded rapidly. Amaro became co-director of all five DOCS clinics before stepping into the role of executive director.
The work exposed her to the realities of navigating the health care system.
“Once you’re the one picking up the phone for a patient, you realize how complicated it really is,” she said.
One initiative stands out. Early in her training, Amaro would call patients to inform them of abnormal Pap smear results, knowing that follow-up care could be difficult to coordinate. Now, through DOCS partnerships, those patients are referred directly to the Center for Haitian Studies for free colposcopies and continued care.
“That’s something I’m really proud of,” she said. “We built a system for their follow-up care.”
Amaro also helped the organization expand specialty services, including new ENT clinic nights, and mentored pre-medical students through Miller Mentors, an organization that pairs aspiring physicians with medical student advisors. Mentorship had been critical to her journey, and she was determined to pay it forward.
Why Obstetrics and Gynecology Felt Like a Calling
Her clinical interests ultimately led her to obstetrics and gynecology. Amaro was drawn to the field’s combination of surgery, continuity of care and the opportunity to support women during their most vulnerable moments.
“OB-GYN felt like an extension of community service,” she said. “You meet patients at critical points in their lives, and you walk with them through it.”
As Match Day approaches, Amaro feels both excitement and nerves. She is eager to take full responsibility for patient care, to sign her name as an M.D. for the first time. Her family will be there to celebrate, no matter where she matches.
Reflecting on her time at Miller, Amaro points not to individual achievements but to collective strength.
“My superpower is my community,” she said. “My family, my friends, my teammates. I’ve learned how to trust people, how to lead without controlling everything.”
It is a lesson she plans to carry into residency and beyond.
“I want to be the kind of doctor who walks into a room and brings a sense of calm,” Amaro said. “Someone patients trust.”
For someone who has never strayed far from home, the next chapter will explore new ground. But the values that guided her — service, leadership and community — are already firmly in place.
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Tags: community health, DOCS, Match Day, Match Day 2026, medical students, Miller School of Medicine, Mitchell Wolfson Sr. Department of Community Service, Newsroom, Obstetrics and gynecology, student leadership