Rafael Lozano: Difference between revisions

If you were to ask Rafael Lozano about his life before entering Starfleet, you would get the simplest of answers. "I was born in Baracoa, studied in California, and had a private practice for several years beforehand."

More realistically, he was born to Carlos Lozano Rivera and Maria de Luz Vega de Soto, possibly the wealthiest couple in the city of Baracoa. Old money. Very old. And of Castilian origin. The Lozano boys, three in all, were a lively, mischievous, athletic, well-educated brood, and intelligent to boot. They were inseparable, and rarely competed for anything other than bragging rights. When the time came, they had their pick of any university. But only Rafael, being the youngest, was "given permission" to pick a career beyond the limits of their city.

He chose medicine. His college life was typical. Plenty of partying the first few years, followed by an abrupt onset of maturity. For Rafael, it hit a little harder, as his father died during his senior year. After finishing school, he returned to Cuba for a year, and then it was back to America for medical school, his residency, etc... By the end, this new country was his home, as so he elected to set up a private psychiatry practice. After the death of his mother, his brother jointly took residence in the family estate. Rafael was expected to join them, and the fact that he did not remains a point of contention.  This is putting it mildly.

The next several years were spent dutifully on his career and he became a standout in the field.  Plans to start a family ran a little slower than his time to do so. The eligible socialite bachelor had been transformed into a man who could think of work as his only mistress.

 

And what led to Starfleet?  He was recruited.  With counseling being one of the least sought focuses in the Academy, recruiters have been forced to look to the outside.  Seeing the opportunity as something greater than himself, Rafael accepted with hardly a hesitation.  He studied at the Academy at an accelerated pace and was assigned to the USS Eagle immediately upon graduation.