Shannon Gomez

Shannon GomezShannon Gomez is a senior graduate from Mary Star of the Sea High School in San Pedro and is the daughter of Battalion Chief Ray Gomez - Battalion 6 C, who has been with the LA City Fire Department for 32 years.

Shannon heard of the scholarship when her older sister was awarded the same scholarship three years ago. "So I was aware of it, and hopeful that I would also be able to earn the award." And the award has initially been helpful for Shannon, who was excited and simultaneously grateful since she was hoping to attain some help in her college tuition expenditures.

In high school, Shannon took part in many extracurricular activities and sports. She was Mary Star of the Sea High School's yearbook editor, Red Cross blood donor, math tutor for the Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society, English tutor for the Stella Marris English Honor Society, ASB Vice President, Member of the Amnesty International, and was also involved in the Culinary Arts Club.

Shannon went out for JV Basketball, Varsity Basketball, Varsity Swimming, and for three years she was on the Varsity Soccer team, landing the position of captain in her Senior Year. She was also on the Camino Real All League First Team, which is a Varsity Cross Country Team. In college, Shannon said she plans to be involved in intramural sports and possibly Club Soccer.

Community work has also been one of Shannon’s vocations. She volunteered at her local animal shelter, helped out at an elderly home and tutored at a local elementary school. In November of 2009, she traveled to Belize for a week, where she worked with an organization called Hand In Hand Ministries, building a home for a needy family. While in Belize, she had the fortunate opportunity to be able to spend a day volunteering in an Outreach Center that served the needs of children affected by the AIDS/ HIV virus. And just this past Spring, Shannon was involved in fund raising to assist the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

Shannon has received many academic honors and achievements, including the National Honor Society, attaining the California Scholarship Federation, and the ELC (Eligibility in the Local Context) which is from the UC school system for being in the top 4% of graduating seniors.

Shannon advises other high school students that are facing challenges in their academics, to seek out help from their peers and from their instructors, because in her experience, most people are happy to help.

Currently, Shannon is attending UC Berkeley where she is majoring in Bio-Psychology. She plans to go on to medical school to study psychiatry afterwards.

By Andrés Gómez