For Emely Gregorio, understanding another person can begin with something as small as a single sign.
During a religious education class at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, in Takoma Park, Maryland, Gregorio was teaching a group of children when she accidentally dropped a marker. One of her students, a young boy who is deaf, ran to pick it up and handed it back to her.
Gregorio signed “thank you.”
“He looked at me and ran up to me and hugged me,” said Gregorio, a graduating senior at Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma Park, Maryland.
That moment helped shape the way Gregorio now sees her future.
This fall, she will attend College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she plans to study biology on a pre-health track before pursuing a career in pediatric medicine.
“I want to be a pediatrician that’s there not only for the child, but the family,” she said. “I want to make everything simple for them to understand.”
Gregorio said her desire to work with children grew through years of volunteering at her parish as a catechist and youth leader.
“I’ve worked with kids since 2020,” she said. “The amount of love they hold in a tiny body is unbelievable.”
After meeting the deaf student, Gregorio began learning sign language herself and teaching prayers in sign language to the children in her class.
“It didn’t need years of studying,” she said of the moment they connected. “I understood he felt understood.”
The daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, Gregorio said her family’s sacrifices and work ethic shaped the way she approaches both faith and education.
During a recent trip to Guatemala, she said she gained a deeper appreciation for the opportunities her parents worked to provide.
“Sometimes I wonder, why my parents came to America if Guatemala is so beautiful?” she said. “But I also got to remind myself that I only went for a vacation.”
She recalled spending a day helping relatives with physically demanding work, including cooking, cleaning and preparing chickens.
“I sweated like I’ve never sweat before,” she said with a laugh.
The experience, she said, reminded her of the challenges many families face and strengthened her gratitude for the educational opportunities available to her.
“When I do feel a little lonely here, I get to call my family in Guatemala,” she said. “They remind me how blessed I am to be here in America and get these studies.”
Gregorio also said watching her mother persevere through serious health challenges and frequent medical visits influenced her desire to pursue medicine.
“My mom, with all these mornings where she couldn’t even get up, she would do it,” Gregorio said. “That just teaches me that the only option I have is to move forward.”
At Don Bosco Cristo Rey, Gregorio immersed herself in leadership and service, serving as president of the National Honor Society and as a faith leader, house leader, bridge leader and student ambassador.
Still, she said the most meaningful part of her experience at the school was the sense of community she found there.
“At Don Bosco, it was not difficult to find community,” she said. “I got to meet people who had the same goals as me who didn’t just want to excel successfully in their career, but also spiritually within themselves.”
She also credited theology teacher Tom Bodart and school president Mark Shriver with helping shape her growth as both a student and person.
In Bodart’s theology class, students read Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning, a book Gregorio said challenged her to think more seriously about suffering, responsibility and purpose.
“It made us really question ourselves and our roles, our responsibilities,” she said. “But it was beautiful because we ended up growing in ways I didn’t know I had to grow.”
As she prepares to leave Maryland for Massachusetts, Gregorio acknowledged that moving away from her close-knit family will be difficult. Still, she believes growth often requires stepping beyond comfort.
“I know I can’t grow without discomfort,” she said. “I have to take full opportunities of the sacrifice.”
For younger students preparing to begin high school, Gregorio offered advice rooted in the faith that has guided her own journey.
“You can’t know your purpose if you don’t know God,” she said. “He’s the expert in it.”
