Meet Miguel Bugayong: 2025 Undergraduate Student Speaker and Aspiring Physician

“For the longest time, I have wanted to study health,” says Miguel Bugayong. “I was born in the Philippines and moved to Illinois when I was three years old. During middle school, I remember going through various health challenges that led to hospital visits. Through my lived experience, I became interested in the intersectionality of health and identity. Similarly, witnessing the gaps in health care access inspired me to want to bring about change in public health.”

This Spring, Bugayong inches closer towards his aspirations. He graduates with a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention from the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and a Master of Science in Healthcare Decision Analysis from the USC Alfred E. Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Bugayong is this year’s undergraduate class speaker. He will address his peers during the Keck School of Medicine commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 17, 2025.

“Speaking at commencement means the world to me. It’s a chance to honor not only my journey but also share the stories and sacrifices of all the people who have supported me. It’s a moment to showcase my respect and gratitude to my family, peers, faculty, and staff who helped guide me. I won’t only speak on my behalf but hope to represent every aspiring student that’s moving forward with their life, navigating what is sometimes a chaotic path,” he shares.

In particular, there are two notable mentors at USC who have shaped Bugayong’s undergraduate education. “Dr. Heather Wipfli is near and dear to my heart, and student services advisor Dinh Nguyen has been the epitome of support. He has been there for me in every situation,” he reveals.

Involvement on campus

As soon as he got to USC, Bugayong became involved in the community. As a freshman, he joined Blueprints for Pangaea at USC, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. “Our student-led initiative redirects surplus medical supplies from communities that would have discarded them to those in need,” he explains.

After a devastating typhoon struck the Philippines in 2022, Bugayong saw an opportunity to expand the organization’s distribution scope and conducted its first international shipment. “I decided to coordinate a drive engaging with nonprofits from around the world to deliver urgently needed supplies.”

“It was a fulfilling process to create actionable outcomes and see how sustainable practices in health care can redirect materials to help others especially during disasters. It was also great to connect with my hometown and contribute to the roots that have shaped my identity.”

Through this donation, Bugayong and his peers engaged with the former Vice President of the Philippines, Leni Robredo, and her nonprofit, during a visit to Los Angeles.

Exploring mental health welfare on campus

During his time at USC, Bugayong became the first mental health writer for Trojans360, a student-run blog.

“As a kid, I wrote a lot about mental health through slam poetry, so when I got to campus and found how demanding college life was, I wanted to address this concern. So, I created different partnerships with USC Student Health, linking students to various support resources such as therapy.”

“As a writer, I discovered the ability to be vulnerable on a public platform. I wrote about topics such as toxic masculinity, grades and identity, and overall progressing from our late teens into our early twenties. Contributing to the blog provided a great opportunity to explore different aspects of mental health,” he says.

Conducting research at the Spine Lab

“For the longest time, my goal has been to become a physician. Participating in clinical research at the Spine Lab under Dr. Alluri was an insightful learning experience where I gained a better understanding of medicine and different terminology, and engaged with the healthcare system. My responsibilities included collecting different case files on electronic medical records, as I worked alongside the orthopedic surgery team at USC to improve surgery outcomes. Being at the Lab taught me that you never stop learning when it comes to medicine,” he says.

Future in medicine

“The last four years have taught me to achieve wholeness and not perfection. I’ve also learned that there are so many interdisciplinary aspects and opportunities in medicine, health, and wellness. The field is teamwork-oriented and requires us all to be supportive and empathetic towards one another, because there are many aspects of who we are that connect to one another,” he says.

After graduation, Bugayong will matriculate at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, Philippines.

“The Health Promotion and Disease Prevention program inspired me to pursue a career in population health and global health. I came to the realization that I want to contribute to my hometown and connect further with a culture and identity that has shaped me, serving a patient population that is close to my heart.”