If you looked up the word “sweet” in the dictionary, you’d see a picture of homecoming queen—and this week’s Campus Celebrity—Gabriela Chen.
In a mere two weeks, Gabriela will be the first person in her family to graduate from college. Armed with a degree in psychology, she plans to attend graduate school to earn certification in occupational therapy and will eventually enroll in law school to study medical malpractice.
“Originally, [my family is] from Guatemala,” she said. “When my parents came to the United States, they landed in Los Angeles. I lived there until I was about nine…it was kind of a bad area. I know where I came from. I’m very humbled by it.”
She may have the crown and sash now, but at first, Gabriela was a bit unsure of herself.
“I almost didn’t run for [homecoming queen],” she said. “I was like, ‘It’s my senior year, let’s see where this goes.’ I adore UH, so I kind of just threw in my application, not really expecting anything, and here I am.”
While Gabriela loved the experience, she admits that the race for homecoming queen was nerve-wracking.
“The application has essay components, GPA components, campus and community components and nomination,” she said.
Gabriela ultimately beat out 15 other girls for the title of queen.
“We had such great girls,” she said. “But only three of us were non-Greek affiliated. I was the only one running under an academic nomination and the other two girls were running under big student organizations, CEO and SPB. It was a little demoralizing because my honor society is really tiny.
There’s more to Gabriela than meets the eye. Aside from being a member of several honor societies, she works as a swim coach, sings with the Southeast Texas Choral Society, paints, crowd surfs and is a die-hard Dodgers fan.
“My Christmas tree last year was filled with baseball hats,” she said.
With a smile that is as contagious as her positive outlook, Gabriela is a truly deserving recipient of a great award.
“To have people genuinely happy for you was, I think, the best part,” she said. “The crown and the sash is nice, but having people know who you are and think you’re worth it is the best feeling ever. I’m so thankful for every single individual and I shout out to them.”