My Journey to a Better Life
My incredible journey began thirty years ago in Mexico. My parents brought me to the United States of America when I was only a baby. I spent almost seven years here in the USA trying to acclimatize to this foreign culture and language. It was hard to be the outsider and the kid who was different in school.
At age eight, I was taken back to Mexico when my grandfather fell ill. Once it was time to return to the states my mother realized that my U.S. citizenship papers were not fully processed and I made another trip to the U.S. as an illegal immigrant. Those three days of walking and hiking the rough terrain were the worst days of my life. On that journey I promised myself that I would never be inthat position again and that I would fight to be someone in this life.
I made it back to the U.S, became a citizen, and went through the school system putting everything that I had into my studies. I pushed harder than anyone around me, both in the classroom and as an athlete. After high school I went to Modesto Junior College from 2005-2008 were I studied to earn my AA Degree in Sports Medicine.
I took one year off to work in order to provide for my ailing father as well as my mother and little sister. Once my father was able to return to work I went back to college, graduating from MJC and then the University of the Pacific with a B.A. degree. While at UOP I was fortunate to work with the San Francisco 49ers as an athletic training intern. After UOP, I got my first job at another junior college, Arizona Western College in Yuma, Arizona. While there, I completed my Master’s Degree in Kinesiology/Athletic Training from Fresno Pacific University.
I’m completing my first year as an adjunct instructor at Modesto Junior College teaching a Sports Medicine class. I’ve just made a huge career move, leaving for Fort Myers, Florida to join the Boston Red Sox for the 2018 spring training season. Then, I’ll likely be stationed as an assistant athletic trainer in Florida or the Dominican Republic with the AA or AAA Red Sox team, providing medical treatments and rehabilitations for the team until the end of the summer.
This new journey is quite scary as I’ve left behind my girlfriend of three years and my 6-year-old son along with my parents and sister…all in pursuit of a better life for me and them.
- Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, Class of 2008