This April (2010), she completed the Phlebotomy/EKG program while working two part-time jobs to support herself.  "I saw people become successful with an education and I wanted to do the same," Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez currently works at a home in the Bronx for the mentally disabled. In four years her goal is to become a nurse of both humans and animals, and to become a positive example for young people in her area.  "Where I am from is all drug dealers," Gonzalez said, "I didn't want to end up in jail or dead so I was into martial arts and softball.  I wanted to do good in school and I want to show other kids in my area that education is a way out of our neighborhood.  Drugs aren't the only option."

According to the Crime Forecasting and Security Risk Analysis (CAP) Index, the neighborhood surrounding Yankee Stadium, where Gonzalez is from, is the country's third most dangerous area around a ballpark, after the environs around Turner Field, home of the Atlanta Braves, and Comiskey Park, home of the Chicago White Sox.  The low-income neighborhoods of the area are infamous for high-crime and low high-school retention rates.  "I'm a self-motivator," Gonzalez added.  "I didn't let my surroundings defeat me and since my experience at Highbridge, I'm going to remain positive and continue on my path to becoming a nurse."