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Meet Manuel Cardenas-Contreras
Manuel Cardenas-Contreras was born and raised in Galt, CA, located in the Central Valley. Being the oldest child of four, he has tried his hardest to set great examples for his siblings. His Hispanic parents taught him the values of respect and hard work.
During his undergraduate career, he first attended CSU East Bay and participated in collegiate soccer. He was very involved in his community by volunteering at summits and encouraging high school students to continue with their education. He transferred to Notre Dame De Namur University, and during his first semester was diagnosed with a hypertrophy and was treated at Stanford Hospital. Following that experience, he resumed his studies and received his BS in Biology while feeling a growing desire to help people improve their health.
Participating in soccer all throughout his life, Manuel understands the importance of health and wellness and their effect upon physical performance. “It is vitally important to treat your body with maximum care by eating healthy, maintaining an active lifestyle and giving your body a sufficient amount of rest.” Since graduating, he has nurtured his passion for soccer by helping run soccer camps around the community.
Over the last two years, Manuel has been involved in research at the Stanford Bariatric & Metabolic Interdisciplinary Clinic. He has gained valuable knowledge of obesity and related co-morbidities. He has recently published (co-author) a clinical research abstract in this subject area. He has also volunteered in local underserved communities by providing free health screenings and information about new health care forms.
Working at Stanford University and being part of the BeWell program bring together many of Manuel’s learned and experienced values: people can be guided and coached to make significant lifestyle changes, such changes can boost your health, and improved health will boost your overall well-being, productivity and happiness.