Health

Dr. Ramon Resa: Building a life of service in the Central Valley

Ramon Resa (Crown ’76, biology) grew up picking crops in California’s Central Valley and went on to spend over four decades as a pediatrician in the community he calls home. A UC Santa Cruz alumnus, Distinguished Alumni Award recipient, and author, Resa has built a life defined by service.

March 31, 2026

By Tara Fatemi Walker

For over four decades, Dr. Ramon Resa (Crown ’76, biology) has been a steady presence in the small Central Valley town of Porterville. As a pediatrician serving his community, he has spent his career caring for the families who know what it means to work the land, just as he once did. A devoted father, husband, and the author of Out of the Fields: My Journey from Farmworker Boy to Pediatrician, Resa’s dedication to his community is at the heart of who he is.

Resa graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 1976 with a degree in biology before attending medical school at UC Irvine and finishing his pediatric residency at UCSF Fresno. The seed was planted early. When Resa was in second grade, his teacher told him he should think about going to college, a word he didn’t yet know, but an idea that took root and never left him.

Despite facing doubt from those around him who questioned whether college was a realistic path, Resa held onto his ambition. A turning point came when a UC Santa Cruz student, Noe Lozano (Porter ’74, psychology), an alum of Resa’s own high school visiting on behalf of the university’s Educational Opportunities Program, told Resa and other Latino youth that UC Santa Cruz was within reach. He took a group to visit the campus, and for Resa, it was an immediate and lasting impression. “I fell in love with the place,” he recalls. “The campus was so beautiful.” It was also his first time seeing the ocean.

At UCSC, Resa found his footing. Although he wasn’t sure what he wanted to pursue at first, he ultimately decided to major in biology with a concentration in pre-med. 

“I decided on pre-med, not because of the courses offered, but because members of my family would get sick and receive zero or terrible care,” Resa recalled. “And never having known a Latino doctor, I thought why not try to get into medical school.”

Some of his most treasured memories from his years at UC Santa Cruz are simple ones: walking among the redwoods, looking out at the bay, and the joy of abundance in the dining hall. Dining hall staff told him he could take as much food as he wanted.

“I loaded up my tray and got three glasses of chocolate milk because at home we could never afford to buy stuff like that,” Resa said. “I was in heaven.” 

Resa started medical school at UC Irvine immediately after graduating from UC Santa Cruz. He believes that one thing he said during his interview got him accepted. 

“They asked me why I wanted to be a doctor,” Resa recalled. “I said, ‘So that I can go back to my hometown and be a role model for the kids who remind me of the kid I used to be.’”

After his pediatric residency at UCSF Fresno, Resa moved to Porterville and worked as a pediatrician for 35 years, where his patients included many underserved children. At 72, he still works full-time—now in a rural health clinic. 

“It is extremely rewarding being around infants and young children. They are so refreshing!” 

In 2023, UC Santa Cruz’s Division of Physical and Biological Sciences honored Resa with a Distinguished Alumni Award. A sought-after speaker, he has shared his story with countless audiences over the years, with a mission that extends beyond medicine: to care for minds and spirits as well as bodies. That impact is already rippling forward. One young man, a former patient who heard Resa speak at his middle school, was moved to pursue a career in medicine himself, with plans to return and serve his own community, just as Resa did.

Resa wasn’t always comfortable sharing his story, until one day he spoke at a Rotary Club meeting.

“They accepted me, and that changed me,” Resa said. “I realized I had value. Being a farmworker wasn’t the end of the world. It was something that I used to springboard myself ahead. And if I could just share all the stuff that went on in my life with other people, I could make them realize that if they suffered abuse or if they had no mother or father, that they could make it, too.”

Resa grew up in the small Central Valley town of Goshen and was raised by his grandparents alongside siblings and aunts and uncles close in age. It was a difficult household to grow up in, and the children had to look out for one another. From the time he was very young, farm labor was a constant. Starting at age three, he picked cotton, oranges, grapes, plums, and peaches through long summers and holidays, sometimes in 105-degree heat, working before and after school throughout the year.

Resa’s story is featured in the documentary short film Migrant Child Farmworkers: Now High-Profile Professionals, the story of 11 former migrant child farmworkers or children of farmworkers who went on to succeed in a variety of careers. The idea came about when Resa met Producer and Director Jesse Gift at a National Speakers Association event for authors and speakers interested in learning how to pitch news outlets. Gift was one of the panelists. Resa raised his hand and asked Gift directly: “what would a national TV news producer think of the following pitch, ‘My journey from farmworker boy to pediatrician?’” 

“I really didn’t know what to say because it never occurred to me that such a journey was possible. It seemed impossible,” Gift recalled. “After reading his memoir, it was and is still difficult to conceive and understand how anyone could make it anywhere, let alone become a doctor with all he faced growing up. He is the kind of person I admire.”

While filming for the documentary, Gift would attend some of Resa’s speaking engagements. He notes Resa’s genuine humility, inspiring many others to pursue their dreams the way he did.  

“When he spoke to an audience of students and teachers, it was amazing that he would convince them they were much smarter than he was,” Gift said. “Especially students in attendance who were certain that nothing in school was of interest. They were not going to benefit and didn’t expect anything other than ‘becoming bored by some doctor lecturing them.’ These students would walk away making plans for college and certain they could do it too. It continues to amaze me.”

Resa and his wife, Debora (Porter ’76, art and biology), met during their very first week on campus in an anthropology class, and have been married almost 50 years with two children.

His daughter, Marina (College Nine ’03, theater arts), is a UC Santa Cruz alumna; because of his own positive UCSC experience, Resa encouraged her to enroll there. “I rather badgered her to attend UCSC and was very upset when she considered UC Santa Barbara until she came to her senses,” laughed Resa. 

Marina also met her husband, Andrew Ward (College Nine ’03, biology), at UCSC. Marina and Andrew have two children—“a 4-year-old who I will encourage to attend UCSC, and an almost-two-year-old,” Resa added. 

His son, Joshua, was also inspired by Resa—he is a pediatrician like his dad and is married with a 20-month-old. 

Resa regularly donates to food pantries to help families in need, knowing firsthand what hunger feels like.

Resa has also served on a number of boards, including the Porterville Chamber of Commerce, the Porterville College Foundation, Sierra View Hospital, UCSF Alumni, Sequoia Conservation, and the Porterville HS Health Pathway advisory board.

For current UC Santa Cruz students, Resa emphasizes savoring the experience and keeping perspective on what truly matters.

“Enjoy your time there and don’t sweat the small details,” Resa said. “Look around and remember how lucky you are to have the ability many others are not afforded.”