A lifelong University of Louisville fan who first began his journey at UofL in 2016 will be graduating next year with a degree in political science.
Hector Gomez, an all-source intelligence analyst for the U.S. Army, is originally from Key West, Florida. Gomez comes from a UofL family—his mom, aunt, uncle and two of his cousins are UofL graduates.
Growing up a big-time fan, Gomez knew that he wanted to attend UofL from an early age. He remembers watching UofL win the 2013 National Basketball championship with his dad and telling his friends in Florida that he was going to attend UofL.
Soon after starting at UofL, Gomez said he made the best decision he’s ever made by joining the Cardinal Marching Band, where he got to watch football games up-close.
Following his sophomore year, he withdrew from UofL for a year and attended a community and technical college.
During his first semester back at UofL in the spring of 2020, he was sent home due to the COVID pandemic. Instead of taking classes remotely, he decided to finish his classes early and enlist in the United States Army to help support his family.
After enlisting, Gomez completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, followed by training at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence in Arizona. He was then assigned to Fort Eisenhower, Georgia, where he served with the 116th Military Intelligence Brigade in military intelligence analysis and open-source intelligence collection.
Gomez’s work supported numerous geographic combatant commands including United States Central Command, United States European Command and United States Indo-Pacific Command. During his service, he received several decorations and awards, including an Army Achievement Medal (AAM).
He is currently being relocated to Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he will be closer to home.
After graduating, he plans to become commissioned as an Army Officer and either work in civil affairs or to go to law school to become an Army Judge Advocate General.
Gomez, who attends classes online, said without the support of academic advisor Sophia Draper, who always made him feel he was a priority, he would not be graduating next year.
UofL is proud to recognize and celebrate Gomez and all members and veterans of the U.S. Army on the U.S. Army’s 249th birthday, June 14.
