CLIMATE CHANGE
Robin D. Lopez embodies the importance of allowing yourself to evolve
By Matt Larson
No matter where or how you grew up, at the end of the
day it’s up to you to make the best of it. Step 1: Embrace
the fact that you can’t do it alone. Born in Oakland and
raised in San Pablo and Richmond, Robin D. López didn’t
always see the brightest future for himself, but he discovered
a passion for science that led him on a pathway of success.
But it came at a cost. Growing up, López had many
friends who ended up murdered or incarcerated, and after
the suicide of his best friend, López dropped out of college
and fell into a deep depression with no end in sight. But
one day he woke up and decided that enough was enough;
that he wasn’t living the life his friend would have wanted
for him. Multiple professors from Contra Costa College
had kept in touch with López during this time, and that
continued support convinced him to reenroll. He soon
dropped his bad habits, dropped the negative people in
his life, and became more family-centric. The biggest
turning point for López was learning to allow himself to be
vulnerable.
“I allowed myself to finally start taking advice from my
father, to finally start hearing out my mother, and to enjoy
these moments with my nieces and nephews,” said this uncle
of 10 with an 11th on the way. “I allowed myself to be
mentored and guided, and it’s paid off tremendously.”
While attending Contra Costa College in 2012 he
landed an internship at the Lawrence Berkeley National
Lab. His task was to help map out fault zones by analyzing
groundwater flow as part of a joint project with the U.S.
Department of Energy and the Japanese Government. He
loved the nature of working at the Lab—never knowing
how the day will turn out, constantly being challenged to
think differently. His passionate attitude didn’t go unnoticed,
and before he knew it they offered him a job. “It kind of
threw me off,” he recalls. “It’s one thing to be interning at
one of the most prestigious research facilities in the world;
it’s another thing to be working there as an employee. So
every day, I’m just very grateful.”