Alex Lopez: Student With A Divine Purpose

Future mechanic finds inspiration from father's last words

Jesse Rosenberg ― SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ― How many tamales does it take to get to Washington D.C.? You may want to ask Alex Lopez. He made a school trip to Florida and Washington D.C. and prepared several hundred tamales to fund the trip.

But life was not always so uplifting for Alex Lopez. It was not long ago, when his parents decided to move from Mexico to Richmond. They were looking for better educational opportunities for their children and hoped to find it there.

When they relocated, Alex felt his world change. His father was forced into a wheel chair because of intense physical labor. Alex knew he had to make a choice to change his economic situation.

Ever since he was a boy, his parents have supported Alex.

He said, "From the early days of my life, my parents have been the ones to push me into the path towards college."

His father was later diagnosed with cancer. His mother had to stop working to care for her husband. Alex's family had no income. Two weeks before his father passed away from cancer he told Alex something that changed his life.

"Originally, your mother and I only wanted one child, and when your brother and sister were born, which was one child too many, we decided that that was it. Then you came along, and I believe that god believed you should be born to fulfill some divine purpose," Alex recalls.

It was that "divine purpose" that encouraged Alex to move past his father's death and channel his energy into getting a college degree.

"Alex is committed," said Upward Bound Counselor Hazel Amina, "to go against the odds and work towards a better life than the one he had with his family."

"My parents always tell me to work hard because they do not want me to experience the kind of life they had to live, which included being taken out of school to work in the fields and getting paid minimum wage because of their lack of education," Alex said.

Since he was a child, Alex was intrigued with cars. Now that may shape his college education.

"One of my dreams, which might seem like a childhood dream is to help build a high-quality flying car that, would be used in the future," he said.

Although Alex has lost his father, he's building a future.

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