As the oldest in a family of six children, David Mejia is no stranger to being first.

But in December, the senior in the class of 2024 at Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School in Takoma, Park, Maryland, achieved two notable firsts.

After school that day, as he was joined by his parents; his younger sister Lucia, a Don Bosco Cristo Rey freshman; and by some teachers, classmates and friends, Mejia logged onto a computer and learned that not only was he receiving a QuestBridge National Match Scholarship, but that he would be receiving that full scholarship to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

With that honor, he became the first student from Don Bosco Cristo Rey to receive that prestigious scholarship, and the first student from that Catholic high school to be accepted into Johns Hopkins, where he plans a pre-med course of study.

Remembering that day when he heard cheers from those gathered around him as he learned the good news, Mejia said, “I see how God truly works in everyone’s lives… It’s been my dream to go to Johns Hopkins for a long time.”

Expressing thanks for how his family, teachers and classmates helped him on his educational journey, he said, “I still can’t believe it. I’m in shock. To be able to go to such a great school on a full-ride scholarship is awesome. I’m grateful to God and those around me.”

QuestBridge is a California-based non-profit that according to its website “connects the nation's brightest students from low-income backgrounds with leading institutions of higher education and further opportunities.” The website notes that “QuestBridge aims to increase the percentage of talented low-income students attending the nation's best universities and the ranks of national leadership itself.”

That scholarship is making possible another first for Mejia. Like many graduates of Don Bosco Cristo Rey, he will become the first member of his immediate family to go to college.

“My dad always says the American dream is graduating from college,” said Mejia, who praised his parents for their example of faith and hard work.

His mother, Patricia Mejia, is an immigrant from El Salvador and is currently on leave from her work as a medical assistant. His father, Moises Mejia, is an immigrant from Honduras who has a home improvement company. The family attends Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Takoma Park and are members of the Neocatechumenal Way, a parish-based Catholic movement dedicated to adult and family faith formation.

Mejia noted how his father came to the United States and had to learn a new language and work hard to provide for his family.

“My dad used to tell me that every single year of high school matters,” he said, remembering how his father also emphasized, “If you work hard from the day you step in school, if you put in the hours and hard work, you get these opportunities.”

Mejia took his father’s advice to heart, and at Don Bosco Cristo Rey, he earned high grades, took Advanced Placement classes and scored high on the SAT test. A counselor at the school’s College Success Center encouraged him to apply for the QuestBridge Scholarship.

Don Bosco Cristo Rey, a coeducational high school sponsored by The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and the Salesians of Don Bosco, offers a rigorous academic curriculum for minority students from families with limited economic means, and it is part of the national Cristo Rey Network of 39 schools. The school is known for its Corporate Work Study Program where students gain experience working at leading Washington-area businesses, organizations and institutions and help pay for nearly one-half of their education costs. Since the school’s first graduating class in 2011, 100 percent of Don Bosco Cristo Rey’s graduates have gained college acceptances.

Mark K. Shriver, the president of Don Bosco Cristo Rey High School, praised Mejia’s accomplishment, saying, “We’re super proud of him and of the teachers and staff who worked from day one to help him get to this point. It’s the result of a lot of hard work. He’s a hard-working young man.”

The school’s president praised Mejia’s academic accomplishments and his dedication to his faith and his “commitment to the community.”

At Don Bosco Cristo Rey, Mejia was a student leader on the Youth Ministry Team, which organizes school Masses, retreats, prayer services and food drives, and he represented the school at the Salesian Student Leadership Conference. He also serves as a student ambassador, volunteering to provide tours of the school to prospective students.

“He’s a role model for every student who goes to school here, not only today, but for the future,” said Shriver. He added, “We have a great faculty and a great staff that are working hard for our students, that have the highest expectations and aspirations for our students, and they want to help them pursue whatever their dreams are… and get to heaven too, that’s the goal.”

In an interview, Mejia explained how, through participating in the Corporate Work Study Program at Don Bosco Cristo Rey, “I basically got a well-rounded experience of the medical field.”

During his freshman year there, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented students from going to workplaces. In his sophomore year, Mejia was a work study student at MacroGenics, a biopharmaceutical company in Rockville that develops cancer treatments. His experiences there included the opportunity to do lab work.

As a Don Bosco Cristo Rey junior, Mejia did telework with Exponent Health, which specializes in pharmacy cost management for people. That experience, he said, gave him an understanding of the health care system.

Now as a senior, Mejia’s work study has been with MedStar Ambulatory Services in Washington, where he has been able to shadow medical assistants and doctors, and witness their work in primary care, urology, gynecology, dermatology, gastrointestinal medicine and neurology.

Describing that clinical work, Mejia smiled and said, “It’s been awesome. I’ve been able to explore different specialities.” He added, “Seeing how doctors dedicate their lives to helping others is beautiful, because I love helping others.”

His experiences at MedStar have helped Mejia broaden his spectrum about his dream of becoming a doctor some day, and he said he might be interested in specializing in neurology or dermatology. “I feel like they’re pretty hands-on. I want to be a hands-on doctor,” he said.

A formative experience for him was going to Honduras for a month in the summer before fifth grade, and seeing how American doctors were providing health care to poor communities there.

“That really touched me and made me want to pursue this medical path,” he said.

Mejia said hearing his mother talk about her work as a medical assistant underscored the importance of being compassionate and respecting the human dignity of each patient.

As a sophomore, he wrote an essay saying he hoped to be a Catholic doctor, and draw on his faith in providing health care to those in need.

“I want people to know that there’s people for them, that people care for them,” he said.

The Don Bosco Cristo Rey student said his Catholic faith is central to his life, and he noted that through the Neocatechumenal Way, he has been able to go on many pilgrimages, including two summers ago to Egypt and Israel. This past summer, he was able to attend World Youth Day in Lisbon, Portugal.

“It was cool to be there and listen to the words of the pope. The phrase that touched me was ‘Be not afraid,’ he said.

Mejia said those pilgrimage experiences have helped him understand, “I can meet God anywhere. God is not only here, he’s worldwide.”

At his family’s home in Laurel, Mejia, who is 17, enjoys being a big brother to his siblings Lucia, 14; Moises, 12; Emilia, 4; Christopher, 2; and their baby brother Julio, who is 8 months old.

“I love being the oldest. I can be there for my siblings when they need me… I do feel I need to set an example for them. I feel that if they see I can succeed, so can they,” he said.

Praising his parents, Mejia added, “Being in a big family, that’s evangelizing to the world, seeing how my parents are open to life.”

Reflecting on his Catholic faith, the Don Bosco Cristo Rey senior said, “I wouldn’t be here without God. God is my strength.”

And Mejia, the first QuestBridge Scholarship recipient from his school who will become its first graduate to attend Johns Hopkins, spoke about another first in his life. “When you put God first, the rest follows,” he said.