Faustino Gerardo Mora was born on October 21, 1987 in Guaranda, the capital of the province Bolivar high in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. A very fortunate individual from the start, on September 17, 1989, Faustino arrived here in Massachusetts, where he has lived ever since. He currently resides in Roslindale with his father, mother, and younger sister.
As a Hispanic adolescent in the United States, Faustino has faced many challenges. However, through his hard work and endurance, he has been able to overcome them. Coming from a very religious and goal-oriented family who has supported him in all of his decisions, Faustino has done very well in all aspects. Beginning in elementary school at Holy Name Parish School in West Roxbury, he was an honor roll student. When it was time to look for a high school, Boston Latin School was the perfect fit. He has been at Latin since 7th grade and continues with the same honor roll grades that will hopefully admit him into an excellent college. Looking back at the past five years, Faustino reflects gratefully at the experiences and situations he has encountered as he has learned very much about leadership and being flexible in life.
In school, his favorite subjects include History, Spanish, Classics, and English. This past year, his junior year, he loved being a student of Ms. Freeman’s Facing History and Ourselves course where he learned about the dark side of history, which has enlightened him and influenced him to make decisions that will make a positive difference for all mankind. Also, he thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Elliott’s AP U.S. History course as she made history come alive. Due to his parent’s excellent decision of teaching him the Spanish language completely, he was able to take the AP course in his sophomore year. With a very stable Spanish language foundation, both ancient Latin and Greek have not been very difficult to learn for him. Through his dedication and tireless hours of hard work, Faustino continues to prepare for the future with respectable grades and a positive attitude.
Although school is supremely important, Faustino is also engaged in many clubs and activities in and outside of school. He is a proud member of the National Honor Society, Amnesty International, Argo, the Register, Photography Club, the Red Cross chapter of BLS, BLS TV, the Recycling Committee, Project Book Net, and others. He plays several sports with his friends, especially tennis and swimming, his two favorite sports; Faustino also enjoys music as he learned to play the piano at the age of 10 and was a member of the 9th grade chorus at school. In addition, he tutors his fellow BLS classmates in lower grades at Saturday Success School. Also, he volunteers his Thursday nights at Holy Name’s Bingos and helps his neighbors out whenever possible. Continuing in the tradition of his mother, both donate blood to the Red Cross every three months. For fun, Faustino enjoys traveling. He has been to several countries aside from his native Ecuador, such as Spain, the Canary Islands, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, Poland, and the Czech Republic.
Faustino has learned that John William Ward was correct in his belief that one should truly act as if one can make a difference because in the end, the change can make an immense difference in someone’s life and this is why he would love to serve his fellow Americans and later, humankind as a whole in some capacity. Faustino hopes to be admitted into an Ivy League College in the Fall of 2006 so that he can major in political science and earn a law degree. The Ward Fellowship is the opportunity he needed to better understand and advance his perspective of the many publicly elected offices. He aspires to one day become a U.S. Senator or an ambassador from the U.S. to Ecuador or any Latin American country or even maybe to the U.N.! Whatever road he takes, Faustino is sure to succeed with the knowledge of past experiences and his level, open-minded, intelligent, and positive attitude.
Faustino’s sponsor is State Senator Jarrett T. Barrios.