MVHS Alum Earns Doctorates

Fourteen years after graduating from Murrieta Valley High School, Armando Del Portillo is now a Doctor of Medicine and Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Sciences.

Del Portillo received the degrees May 10 from Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

After graduating from MVHS, Del Portillo attended UCLA, and was then granted a full scholarship to Mount Sinai. He will be doing his residency in pathology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.

“That was at the top of his list when interviewing,” his aunt, Arlette Klauer, said.

To celebrate his achievement, a party was held Saturday in Murrieta at the home of his parents, Gloria and Jorge Del Portillo.

“It turned out great,” Klauer said. “His former teacher, Mr. [Jack] Jones, was there. He was his biology teacher, and one of his biggest influences. We didn’t tell Armando he was coming, and he was very surprised.”

Armando’s twin brother, Jorge, is a prosecuting attorney at the San Diego District Attorney’s office, and their older brother, Edgar, has two degrees, from UC Irvine and the Berkeley School of Music.

“The unique and exciting thing - besides it being exciting to anyone who achieves these degrees - is that they come from a home of two parents that are first generation from Colombia,” Klauer said.