Spencer graduated from Rice University summa cum laude, where he double majored in Biochemistry/Cell Biology and Hispanic Studies. After graduating, he was Fulbright fellowship recipient to Laos, where he taught English at the national medical school, as well as at the American embassy-sponsored community center. He attended the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, a 5-year research intensive medical school program, where he received a full tuition scholarship, as well as several competitive research grants and national awards in Emergency Medicine. While in medical school, he was awarded a second Fulbright research grant to Taiwan, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Fulbright program was suspended and he was unable to complete the fellowship. Spencer is currently an Emergency Medicine resident physician in Colorado.
Spencer has a wide variety of teaching and mentorship experiences. At Rice, he was a biochemistry Teaching Assistant for a flipped classroom course, facilitating group discussions and problem sets based on asynchronous lectures. In his Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship to Laos, he taught English to learners at a variety of different levels and taught SAT prep classes for students looking to study in the US. He has mentored multiple students applying to medical school and residency, also volunteering as a pre-medical mentor through the Student National Medical Association/Latino Medical Student Association in medical school. In addition, he has guided dozens of students through the Fulbright grant application process and has represented the program at national meetings and multiple universities as a Fulbright Alumni Ambassador. In his free time, Spencer volunteers as a driving instructor for international students in Cleveland, as well as an in-classroom math teaching assistant for Spanish-speaking middle school students.
Spencer also enjoys biking, skiing, playing pickup soccer and basketball, and cooking with his wife. Prior to medical school, Spencer played trumpet in a mariachi band for 3 years. As a Cleveland sports fan, Spencer is well-experienced in handling adversity and stressful situations, and hopes that the Cleveland Browns eventually win a Super Bowl in his lifetime.
