​Gabriel Guillén never expected to attend college. As the son of Mexican American farmworkers, he harvested lemons with his parents and two older brothers to support his education. Today, as the first in his family to attend college, Gabriel still works full time while attending California State University Channel Islands and serves as a role model for his own children in overcoming adversity and setting high educational goals.

In 2011, Gabriel graduated magna cum laude from CSUCI's nursing program. He entered the master's program at CSUCI's school of business and economics in 2014. Gabriel advocates for health equity as a community health education supervisor for Dignity Health's St. John's Hospitals. He started a mobile unit that serves low-income neighborhoods in Ventura County, providing free health screenings and immunizations to uninsured and underinsured children, adults and families.

Upon completing his master's degree, Gabriel plans to increase his role in children's health advocacy to positively impact future generations through disease prevention and advocate for health equity for all.​