Charlotte Student Realizes His Dream Through The 49erNext Program
By SONJA BARISIC
Alan Hidalgo-Lobo was born and raised in California by parents who immigrated to the United States from Honduras. The family moved to Charlotte when he was in middle school, in search of the proverbial better life.
In 2009, his family’s life was changed forever when his father, Milton Hidalgo, was shot to death, a crime for which no one was ever prosecuted. Grappling with grief and focused on trying to get justice for his father, the son who had always loved school and earned good grades began skipping classes and failing.
In 2015, Hidalgo-Lobo sat in the audience and watched as his classmates walked across the stage to receive their diplomas. He didn’t have enough credits to graduate himself.
The story of what happened to his family is painful, but Hidalgo-Lobo doesn’t mind sharing it publicly. “It’s part of my journey and why I decided to start college at 23 years old,” he said. “It is part of what essentially has made me become who I am today as a human being.”