August 2014 Junior Alumnus of the Month
CHCI Program: 2012 R2L NextGen
School: Rising Freshman at John Hopkins University
Hometown: Fresno, California
Pedro Gomez is one step closer to achieving his life-long dream of becoming a neurosurgeon. As the eldest of three and the first one to attend college, Pedro will begin his freshman year at John Hopkins University where he will start his journey in the medical field by majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology. He primarily motivation? His desire to help change people’s lives through surgery.
While at Sunnyside High School in Fresno, California, Pedro took his academic commitments seriously. He challenged himself by taking Advance Placement courses including Macroeconomics, Biology, and European History, along with other honors courses and several college courses. In total, he participated in eleven advance placement courses, three honors courses, and 2 college credit courses. Pedro graduated from high school with an impressive 4.32 grade point average.
Academics weren’t the only area where Pedro excelled while in high school. Pedro also recognizes the importance of service to his community. Since 2010, he has contributed over 500 hours of volunteer time with local nonprofit organizations on short- and long-term projects. Additionally, Pedro has been an active member of several California Endowment programs including, Boys and Men of Color Initiative (BMoC) and Building Healthy Communities (BHC). He managed all of this while working part time as a gardener and landscaper.
Hard work and perseverance allowed Pedro to earn one of the coveted Gates Millennium Scholars Program scholarships. Through this prestigious program, Pedro will receive funding to cover the costs of undergraduate education and participate in leadership development opportunities and meet other scholars across the country. Pedro will use his scholarship at the John Hopkins University, in Baltimore, Maryland this upcoming fall. Pedro aspires to work towards becoming a neurosurgeon and possibly pursing a minor in public health or public policy.
“CHCI’s R2L NextGen program helped me broaden my perspective on policy issues beyond my local community. Now I have a wider view of how I can create positive change for my community,” shared Pedro. CHCI is proud to have Pedro as part of the CHCI Familia!