As a middle school student in Long Beach, Servando Oropeza rarely had a ride to visit his ailing mother. His older siblings were constantly working, with families of their own to support.

As their mother Ofelia lay in a Compton hospital battling throat cancer, young Servando was battling his conscience.



His mother was “always on his mind,” but he chose the wrong path to deal with the pain he was feeling, fighting in school and getting “caught up in street stuff,” he says. “I didn’t feel like fixing my problems.”

Servando fell behind in school as he failed most of his freshmen year. He also received several suspensions and an expulsion, leaving his family not only fed up with him, but with each other. When Ofelia died, everything fell apart.

The five older siblings fought over their mother’s possessions. The family functions became limited. They barely even spoke. The death of their mother would have a lasting effect on Servando and his family.

“She was the pin that held the other ones together,” he said.

The family feud left Servando in the middle, as a young adult struggling without a mother and simply trying to pull his family back together.

Also following the death, his father Rudy went back to Mexico to find comfort in his home country. Servando understands why he left, knowing “things were hard for him and everyone’s comfortable in their home.”



With a family broken apart, Servando felt as though the family problems were his fault.

“I felt like I didn’t do anything right. I thought they hated me,” he said.

He continuously was in trouble in and out of school and an expulsion from Ceres High School led him to Stockton with oldest brother Rudy.

“I was young, messed up, and I didn’t know how to handle the loss of my mom,” he admits. “I needed to change but it was hard for me.”

Enrolled at Stagg as a junior, he joined the football team, which he found solace in.

“I can’t express the love I have for the sport. It was my passion,” he said.

From his junior year until now, Servando has seen positive changes to his life, simply because he want his mom to be happy.

“I still think about her all the time,” he said. “And I just cry.”

The only thing on Servando’s mind now is graduating and for his brothers to all be there.

“I don’t know why my family still doesn’t get along. They’re always fighting. It hurts.”



And he knows he will make the effort to bring his family together.

“Everyone’s invited but I’ll understand if they don’t wanna come.”