Healthcare Without Barriers: Zach Quezada Miller ’20 Brings Compassion and Service to Family Medicine
October 20, 2026
- Author
- Caroline Roy ’20
For Zach Quezada Miller ’20, practicing medicine is a fundamental act of service.
At work, he sees patients in every phase of life, from infants to the elderly. A typical day as a resident at Cabarrus Family Medicine Clinic might include visiting children, conducting emergency hospital procedures, assessing pregnant women and/or carrying out primary care checkups. For Quezada Miller, the breadth of experiences within family medicine makes the job unique.
“I’m looking forward to building long-term relationships with patients,” he said. “My hope is to build trust over multiple years and stages of life. Seeing patients in different contexts allows me to treat them holistically.”
Quezada Miller graduated from East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine this past spring, with a special focus on service learning. After rotations in emergency rooms, specialty clinics, pediatrics and more, he decided family medicine felt most fulfilling.
As a John M. Belk Scholar, his Davidson experience prioritized intellectual exploration and public service. Some of the most valuable lessons he’s taken into the medical field came from time outside the classroom, like the summer he spent as a Stapleton/Davidson Faith & Justice Intern. Working at the Men’s Shelter of Charlotte, now Roof Above, he witnessed firsthand the difficulties of accessing medical care while homeless.
Zach during his Stapleton/Davidson Internship with the Men's Shelter of Charlotte.
Zach with Davidson friends at their 2022 Commencement ceremony.
As he built personal relationships with men at the shelter, he noticed many suffering from medical issues that would be relatively easy for a doctor to treat. Employment status, a lack of insurance and simple mistrust of the system all created barriers between vulnerable people and access to healthcare.
I thought, if I’m going into medicine, I want to be able to provide care to people who struggle to find it. At the most basic level, people need access to a doctor who will listen and find a way to help.
His Stapleton internship also introduced him and his now wife, Yara Quezada Miller ’21, who worked with homeless populations at Urban Ministries in Charlotte. The two share a passion for serving their communities and married in the summer of 2022 surrounded by Davidson friends.
When Quezada Miller chose Davidson, he knew he wanted to study literature and non-scientific writing on his path to medical school. As an English major, he experimented with writing creative nonfiction and spent a summer abroad studying British literature with the Davidson in Cambridge Program. Clear expression and communication skills have served him well as a doctor.
“Beyond that, so much of literature is about getting inside someone else’s perspective,” he said. “In medicine, the quicker you can try to understand where someone is coming from and what they need, the better you can help.”
As the Quezada Millers settle back into the Charlotte area, he hopes they can return to campus more often. Attending his wife’s fifth Reunion Weekend this past June reminded him why he chose Davidson in the first place.
“I remember my first campus visit as a senior in high school,” he said. “Everyone I met was willing to sit down and have a conversation with me. I don’t know that you can find a community like this anywhere else.”
