Gabriel Lopez, a 2015 graduate of Palm Desert High School, has been working at the local Honda dealership as an Internet Sales Manager. During his time at PDHS, Lopez was a key player to the school’s football team. Lopez says that a lot of his success can be attributed to PDHS, explaining that the moment high school is over you are on your own to find your way, but Palm Desert High School set him up for what was to come. Lopez recalls going through a “mindset change” leading up to graduation that helped him with “focusing on the next chapter of life.” His proudest moment was earning his diploma on graduation day, which was the next step on his path to College of the Desert, where he gained his college degree in order to join the workforce. He found his way to his current job through his interest in customer service and his love for working with numbers. Gabe Lopez even had a recent encounter with the Palm Desert High staff after selling a car to our very own Mr. Wise, an experience he described as a nice interaction where he got to catch up with his old teacher. Lopez wanted to leave the current generation of PDHS with this piece of advise: “Have fun in high school and just take life one step at a time. Don’t rush anything, everything will fall into place, and just always have a smile and a positive attitude no matter what life throws at you.”