Inspired by an uncle who served in the Navy, Michael Figueroa Osorio enlisted at 18 as a hospital corpsman. That service led to a lifelong commitment to public health. “It’s a role full of pride,” Figueroa Osorio said, of his time in the Navy. “At first, I was just doing it for fun, to get my feet wet and figure myself out. But then I found myself in a collective where I felt like I belonged.”
From service to purpose
After completing his corpsman training, Figueroa Osorio enrolled in additional schooling and testing to become a preventive medicine technician, a public health-focused role that involved administering vaccinations, running disease prevention programs and conducting sanitation inspections.
In 2021, he deployed to Kabul during the U.S. evacuation of Afghanistan, providing medical care at Abbey Gate, one of the main airport checkpoints.
“We were working 24 hours on, 24 hours off, providing direct care,” he said. “A lot of these people had been through a lot – broken noses, broken bones, malnourished. I remember seeing pregnant mothers and thinking about my own mom. I was like, man, I cannot wait to give my mom a hug.”
On Aug. 26, 2021, a suicide bombing killed 13 service members and dozens of Afghan civilians.
“I could have died that day,” Figueroa Osorio said, “and ever since that day, I’ve told myself I always want to do more.”
He decided to apply his Navy experience back home by pursuing a career in public health. His first stop: UW-Milwaukee.
Coming home to serve
At UW-Milwaukee, things started to click as Figueroa Osorio connected his studies to his experiences growing up on Milwaukee’s south side. “We were talking about systemic issues in class — how the poor stay poor, and the rich get richer, and why medical care and food are so expensive,” he said. “I started connecting the dots in my own life. This is why we struggled so much growing up.”
He also found encouragement. One particular moment stands out: During his final field experience presentation, a professor addressed his imposter syndrome. “He looked at me and was like, ‘You belong.’ That hit me hard. It still does now. I was like, ‘I do, yeah, I do.’”
Rooted in community
Figueroa Osorio completed his bachelor’s degree in public health in May 2025 and is continuing into a master’s program in Community & Behavioral Health Promotion. He says one of his long-term goals is to be a leader in his field — not only to shape public health but to inspire others who come from a background like his. Before graduation, Figueroa Osorio began working as the food pantry coordinator at Bay View Community Center, serving many of the same neighborhoods he grew up in.
“I try to run it in a way where we can teach people and help people out,” he said.
In addition to distributing food and other household products, Figueroa Osorio partners with other organizations to offer food demos, mental wellness kits and health literacy classes.
“I’m proud of the purpose I’ve found again after the Navy,” he said. “This doesn’t feel like a job to me. This feels like something I am meant to do.”
