A teacher told David Gonzalez in elementary school he wasn’t going to accomplish anything. 

Coaches in middle school shouted random Hispanic last names to get his attention. 

Classmates said slurs loud enough for him to hear, and others told him not to speak Spanish when talking to his family. 

David, who immigrated with his parents and sister from Mexico when he was only 3, got worn down growing up in the predominantly white Kingwood community. His self-worth and confidence hit a low in middle school. 

“Even though I had good grades, I didn’t believe I was smart or capable, and I carried this quiet sense of purposelessness that shaped how I acted,” David said. “Instead of stepping into leadership or embracing my potential, I chose to become the class clown, constantly seeking approval from others rather than trusting my own voice.

“I remember the subtle hostility or dismissal I felt when I shared my ideas or expressed ambition. It made me retreat and bury that driven, thoughtful part of myself.”

At the time, David hated himself because he didn’t have the confidence to stand up for what he knew was wrong. 

Eventually, he embraced who he truly was in high school, but the feeling of hate he felt in middle school remained as motivation. And that motivation carried him far. This spring, he received full-ride offers from Harvard, Brown, Duke, Georgetown, University of North Carolina, University of Michigan and the University of Texas-Austin. 

He was chosen as a Forty Acres scholar at UT and a University Scholar at Duke.

During a Forty Acres event in April, David was stopped by Yahir Olivares, a previous Forty Acres Scholar and a fellow immigrant from Mexico.

“I just want you to know, don’t get discouraged,” Olivares said. “Like, I know you’re looking around this room and you don’t see all the people who look like you, who might talk like you, who might be who you are. 

“Don’t get in your head about it. Just be who you are. Make the most out of it. You’re here for a reason.”

The words hit David hard. With every college acceptance, every scholarship and award, it helped cement that his hard work paid off. In the back of his mind, however, he could never shake the voices from his childhood.

“All my scholarships are merit based, all my scholarships were things that I worked my ass off to accomplish,” David said. “And I know that there’s people who, at the end of the day, will always look at it as like, I got here because I’m Hispanic, which is so far from the truth.”

Becoming a citizen

When David was just 3, his dad Jesus Gonzalez came to the United States through a permanent resident card. That allowed David, his mom Azucena Gonzalez and his older sister Eliza to also immigrate to the U.S.

The family’s process to become American citizens was long and expensive. Their goal was to become citizens before Eliza graduated from Kingwood Park in 2020, so she could attend college in the U.S.

It took a total of 10 years for everyone in his family to gain citizenship. 

“People don’t realize that [immigrants are] leaving conflict or leaving an inability to access things, and you’re coming into a country with no intention but to do good and to live your life,” David said. “And it’s a hard process. I mean, at any moment when we were growing up, we could have been deported. And we hadn’t done anything wrong. It’s just the fact that we were living here. That’s true for a lot of people.”

David didn’t plan to be ranked in the Top 10 in high school after years of being told the goal was too ambitious for him. But when he saw he was No. 9 on his first freshman report card, he decided he was going to work to be No. 1 or No. 2 and focus more on his academic goals.

“After seeing that I’m capable of more, I really just dedicated myself to the things I care about, which are medicine and healthcare equity, and like the things that made me who I am today,” David said.

Becoming involved in health science

David joined the school’s HOSA chapter his sophomore year and participated in prepared speaking competitions at the HOSA events.

By his junior year, he was an area officer. On a drive to Galveston for a leadership conference, health science teacher Leanna Rockwell talked with David about his options for his senior year. 

“If you are a state officer, know that it is going to be a lot more responsibility,” said Rockwell, who already knew David’s course load and that he worked construction to help his family financially. “So really think about that. If that’s something that you want and if it’s something that you can do.”

David didn’t hesitate. “‘Ms. Rockwell, if I get it, I’m going to go big. So if I get the president, I’m going to go for Texas state president.”

Rockwell wasn’t surprised when that was exactly what he did. He was dually elected as Area 6 and state HOSA president.

As state president, David has led a team of eight, planned conferences, planned fundraisers, run leadership sessions and more. He spent four days in Washington, D.C., in September at the Washington Leadership Academy Conference, meeting with representatives and senators to encourage them to continue to support CTE programs.

“By the end of [the DC conference], he knew everybody’s name that was there,” Rockwell said. “Everybody knew who he was. He formed so many bonds and friendships. I didn’t think we were ever going to be able to leave because we had to stop and take pictures with everybody.”

David’s genuine passion for healthcare and helping others was evident in D.C. and it’s evident to those he regularly works with. He spent his senior year in the district’s dual credit Emergency Medical Technician program where he often rode with EMTs in ambulances for full shifts. This week, he takes his EMT-Basic certification test.

“The ability to serve others through medicine gives me purpose,” David said. “Through public health, advocacy and direct patient care, I believe physicians hold a unique platform to address systemic inequities and improve access to quality care in underserved communities.”

Making his family proud

And while his long-term goal is to become the U.S. Surgeon General, creating financial stability for his family and making his parents proud is always forefront in his mind.

“Every time that he calls me or tells me a new accomplishment, I think he doesn’t realize how big and how impactful it really is for him and for our family,” said Eliza Gonzalez, who graduated from Willamette University and plans to attend law school for immigration law. “He’s accomplishing things that no one in our family ever has, and he’s gaining the recognition that he’s worked really hard for.”

During high school, David juggled multiple school organizations, state organizations and a job in construction. He also helped create the non-profit Atlas, which educates people on the opiate crisis. In school and in his personal life, he worked to surround himself with people who uplifted others, and he worked to be a positive force in other people’s lives.   

“I could call him right now and he’d probably be in the back of an ambulance, on a Zoom meeting and taking a test all at the same time,” said senior Talon Benton, who watched his friend balance everything.

“You’re not going to get extra credit,” Benton would tease from across the room when he’d spot David talking to a teacher. 

Gonzalez ultimately became salutatorian of the senior class.

Even while working to be ranked in the Top 10, David said he found the emphasis on rank in high school to be more harmful than it was good for students, citing the focus on GPA points over people’s personal and career interests.

“In KPark, some of the administration wants there to be this level of competition within the students because it, in some regards, brings out the best in some students,” David said. “But I think it brings out the worst in a lot of others. There’s students here who probably fell victim to that competitiveness – and burnt out and didn’t accomplish everything they could have accomplished, because there’s not as much of a collaborative environment in Kingwood Park.”

Choosing Duke

When David officially decided on Duke, his family surprised him with a blue cake that read “Duke Bound!”

David ultimately chose Duke for the school spirit and traditions. He liked the people he met when touring the school, the hands-on learning opportunities and the collaborative spirit of the school.

As a University Scholar, he will participate annually in a trip somewhere in the United States where they are able to do team bonding and also spend time helping the community they visit.

“I just really was impressed by the amount of focus on the students and how many opportunities that they want to give us to not only succeed as individuals, but also, continue to uphold and build strong communities, particularly for lower-income students,” David said.

David said he is very appreciative of all his parents sacrificed, with his dad going straight into the workforce, his mom finished college while pregnant with David and they uprooted their life to give their kids better opportunities in a different country three years later.

“I want to serve as a pillar for my community,” David said. “Like me being Mexican, being an immigrant – everything I’ve worked for has been for my family and for who I am. My parents sacrificed so much to come to this country. I’m seeing this light at the end of the tunnel. I’m almost there, like I have this opportunity coming and it really means a lot.”