Gerardo Rivera

UC Merced
Paly, Class of 2021

Updated March 2026

Q: What was your experience going to Paly?

A: My experience at Paly was fun. I had lots of friends that I would hang out with during lunch and made lots of great memories with them.

Q: Which teachers or administrators at Paly were particularly helpful?

A: Crystal Laguna, who was in charge of the Latino Unidos on campus.

Q: How did you decide which college to attend?

A: My main factor was financial aid. I did not want to leave or enter school with the burden of taking a loan out to support my education.

Q: How did you decide on your major?

A: I was always interested in technology at a young age. My father studied a little bit of coding in Mexico when he was younger, so when he heard that I was interested, he entered me into a hackathon when I was in middle school. Afterwards I knew that if I went to college I would study computer science.

Q: How has RTE impacted your life?

A: Besides the financial assistance, the mentorship has been extremely helpful throughout my four years. Grainger Marburg, my RTE mentor, was always helpful in guiding me through life's situations.

Q: What type of guidance do you get from your RTE mentor?

A: Grainger gave me much guidance but he also gave me relationship advice that was really helpful and put things into perspective for me.

Q: What has college been like for you? Describe your challenges and successes.

A: I really enjoyed my college experience. I met a lot of people, made many friends and learned more than what I studied. Thankfully the support for undocumented students at UC Merced was extensive which allowed me to get an internship at the OIT a couple of times. To give thanks I volunteered at the Monarch Center which is the office that supported undocumented students. The challenges that I faced were educational as well as getting a job. During my first two years at UC Merced I was unable to work, which led to me doing a lot of freelance work online which worked great but was a challenge until I was finally able to legally work. I failed a couple of classes and to make sure that I didn't take an entire extra year to complete my degree, I had to take three math classes over a summer to make up for the failed classes.

Q: What is your goal after college?

A: Right now my goal is to learn German, piano, train my German Shepherd dog, Klaus, and to get a job related to Computer Science.

Q: Who are your role models at the moment?

A: Right now John Kiriakou, a former CIA officer turned journalist, is my role model. I admire his communication skills and his story telling. His stories as a CIA operative are really interesting, as well as the important stuff he did during and after his time at the agency.

Q: What advice would you give to your high school self?

A: My advice to my high school self would be to get more involved in the community!