On the eve of the 55th reunion for the Class of ’63, Rich LaRocca ’63 shares that one of the classmates he remembers fondly and misses deeply is Gil Pena ’63. “Gil was an interesting guy: On Sunday mornings he would visit the local Mexican families to encourage them to practice their religion and attend Church. He was tragically killed in an automobile accident not too long after graduating from Santa Clara. A native of Mexico, he came to Santa Clara from Phoenix’s Brophy Prep. Gil graduated from Santa Clara magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree, was awarded a Nobili Medal Honorable Mention, and received a Stanford University Fellowship. At the time of his death, he was studying earthquake engineering and hoped to return to his earthquake-prone country and apply his skills to mitigate earthquake impacts on his community.”