Doctor of Medicine, School of Medicine

Hometown: Born in Philadelphia and grew up in Doylestown, Pa.

Undergraduate degree: Graduated cum laude from Bucknell University with a B.S. in business administration and a minor in chemistry.

Temple family tree: “Both of my parents, Magdalena Wiltz, a psychiatrist, and Jose M. Reyes, a pathologist, graduated from TUSM in 1978 and now practice in the Philadelphia suburbs. Both also did their residencies at Temple. My grandfather, Jose M. Reyes, a psychiatrist in Puerto Rico, my uncle, Hector Wiltz, a dermatologist in Miami, and my uncle, Cesar A. Reyes, a psychiatrist in Puerto Rico, also graduated from TUSM.”

Plans after graduation: A residency in urology at Temple University Hospital (two years of general surgery, then four years of urology).

Why urology? “I was drawn to this field because of the broad range of surgical procedures and the profoundly positive impact urologists have on their patients. It’s also a technologically advanced field, with wonderful research opportunities.”

Service: At Temple, Reyes served actively for the Boricua Latino Health Organization, volunteered for the annual Kenderton Elementary Health Fair and was an instructor in the “Medical Spanish” elective.

Why I chose Temple: “It’s close to home and I knew it was an excellent medical school training excellent clinicians. Also, Temple did a lot for my family.”

How Temple helped me grow: “I’m definitely more of a critical thinker, able to attack a problem, think about it more in depth and then come to a better decision. I’m also a better person because of the service we did to help those in the community not as fortunate as others.”

My mentors: “All of my grandparents. My one grandfather came from nothing and became a doctor. Because of what he did, I’m here today. Also my parents, who instilled in me the value of hard work and responsibility. It’s also because of them that I’ve made it this far.”

What others say: “I have known Jose since he interviewed for our medical school and I am genuinely impressed by his ethics, maturity and professionalism. He certainly is one of the top five medical students that I have met in the last 20 years at Temple,” said Raul DeLa Cadena, assistant dean and associate professor of physiology.