David Solis Lopez recently joined our nonprofit organization team here in Phoenix AZ as an Academic Support Coordinator, but his journey with Boys Hope Girls Hope began long before adulthood. Below is Lopez’s story about being accepted as a scholar and the ways that BHGH impacted his life:
Hardly do we ever get to have a moment where everything comes full circle. My experience with Boys Hope Girls Hope first began when I was still in 5th grade. As a young boy in the gifted program, I was told that I had potential, it was just a matter of fostering and nurturing it. This is when I was introduced to BHGH, a scholarship program aiming not only to prepare gifted students for their academic careers but for the future.
I never truly understood those words, what was my academic career? What was my future? What potential needed fostering and nurturing? What did foster and nurturing even mean? As a first-generation student from a family that barely had only just moved to the United States, I knew just as little as my parents did about the answers to these questions. I wanted to reach that potential, so I tried my hardest and to this day remember the rigorous process to apply for the program. Days went by until the day came when the phone rang, and we heard the words “your child has been accepted into the program.”
At that moment, happiness flooded the family. We didn’t know what it meant to be accepted, but we knew things would change for the better. I developed very fond memories of BHGH throughout the years as a scholar whether that be doing community service at Homeward Bound, having study sessions, taking summer classes, or simply being kids with my peers. If it weren’t for BHGH, I would have never attended Madison Traditional Academy and had my experiences there. Had it not been for BHGH, I might’ve never gone to Brophy and traveled to Haiti on a mission trip my junior year.
Now, I have the privilege of coming back to Boys Hope Girls Hope as an employee, seeing all the hard work and dedication it takes to create those memories. Boys Hope Girls Hope was a constant in my childhood as I spent nearly half my life in the program. This nonprofit organization holds a special place in my heart, and I plan to bring my unique perspective as a scholar to further the mission of BHGH.