As a Dreamer, Mauricio Gomez Lopez thought his chances of achieving anything more than a high school diploma were almost impossible. He overcame challenges at home, and his mother's support propelled him to attend Cal State Fullerton.

Mauricio is now double majoring in mathematics and physics while also conducting cutting-edge research with Dr. Wylie Ahmed, assistant professor of physics at CSUF, which has led to two published works.

Mauricio participated in Princeton's School of Life Summer Sessions in 2018 and a research internship at UC San Francisco in the summer of 2019. In the fall of 2019, he returned to his alma mater, Valencia High School, as an instructional aide and Science Olympiad coach, all while maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.81.

Mauricio plans to pursue a master's degree, followed by a Ph.D.