Oscar Cazares

Oscar Cazares, a proud Latino immigrant, is in his fifth year of being an AMSA National Leader. He considers himself a native of Brownsville, Texas. He currently serves as the AMSA Health Policy Chair. Starting off as an FGLI (first-generation, low-income) individual, Oscar now proudly holds a multidisciplinary educational background. In December 2021, he graduated with a dual B.S. in Biology and Psychology with a Medical Humanities minor from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV). He also hails a UTRGV B3 Scholar title, which claims him as bilingual, bicultural, and biliterate. By mid-2027, he plans to have two other UTRGV Bachelor’s degrees: a B.A. in Political Science with a Social Justice Minor, as well as a Certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies; and a B.S. in Criminal Justice with a Global Health and Migration minor.

Oscar has earned a panoply of AMSA accolades at the national level. He raised from the ground up an AMSA Chapter that soon thereafter won a Paul R. Wright Chapter Success Award at the 2019 AMSA Convention. At the 2021 AMSA Convention, the same Chapter won a 1st place title for a disability campaign that Oscar founded and supervised. His AMSA National Leadership positions include being a coordinator for the Wellness and Student Life Action Committee for one year, as well as being a Premedical Membership Director for two years. He has also been the Course Director for AMSA Scholars Programs. For his 2023 course directorships, he was awarded the AMSA Course Director Award at the 2024 AMSA Convention in Washington, D.C.—now formally known as the Future Physicians for Change Convention. Oscar has also been a consistent member of the AMSA House of Delegates Reference Committees, including the position of Chair of a committee. The Reference Committees are responsible for collecting the testimony of AMSA’s membership on House of Delegates resolutions and making a formal recommendation to the House of Delegates to accept or reject each resolution.

For the 2024-2025 AMSA term, Oscar served in multiple AMSA roles in the Health Policy Team, the AMSA Academy, the National Advocacy Day Coordinator Team, and the House of Delegates. For going above and beyond during said term, as well as for his unparalleled legacy of activism, advocacy, and leadership, he received one of the highest AMSA honors for an individual, the James Slayton National Award for Leadership Excellence, at the 2025 75th Annual AMSA Convention in Washington, D.C. The award is given each year to one AMSA National Leader whose exemplary achievement in leadership and management exceptionally fosters the development of inspiring physician leaders. This leader has exceptionally performed above and beyond the level of their position expectations to advance the organization forward.

Oscar’s other notable awards include the Health Occupations Students of America Barbara James Service Award and President Barack Obama’s Golden President Volunteer Service Award.