On this particular Thursday afternoon, the sky is glowing.

Brian Vargas ‘21 drives through the desert, under the pink and orange sky, to pick up his friends for their weekly physical training. 

Vargas is happiest with his friends and working out with them; they’re constantly improving and pushing each other as a team to one day become worthy marines. 

Vargas is a 17-year-old senior at La Quinta High School and hopes to ready himself for the future ahead of him. 

As a Medical Health Academy scholar, he is involved with the Marine Corps as a poolee. (A poolee is someone who has committed to being a Marine but has not yet completed training.) 

He is motivated in this pursuit as he wants to give back to his family for all they’ve done for him.

“I want to take care of my sisters, like financial things first for med school because she’s going to be a doctor,” he said. “I want to help my mom with her benefits first, but she’s going get from me [from] being a Marine.“

His long-term ambition is to become a veterinarian and to open his own clinic.

Being around animals his whole life and even owning a ranch, he wants to help them live a longer and healthier life when he retires.

Though he likes to be in a leading role, he considers being part of a team and to motivate and push those around him, beyond their expectations. He believes that he has the skills of a motivational leader and becomes selfless when it comes down to his friends.

“My friends and I are more like family,” he said, “and family likes to see each other succeed and go beyond their limits and that’s how we are.” 

He enjoys motivating them to watch them succeed and exceed their limits. 

“We all want each other to be better than the other and that makes it just a continuous grind for us,” Vargas said. 

Vargas is the type of person who puts family before himself—whether that’s cherishing his time with his friends, taking care of his family and their wellbeing, or preparing for the Marine Corps.