About Me

Profile

About: Hi, my name is Francisco Dominguez! As the only child of Frank and Janet Dominguez, a tight family unit was all I ever needed. I grew up in San Antonio, TX, where we found a small but lively Puerto Rican community, and where I first found myself. Having never lived on the island, I’ve always felt estranged from my roots, roots that trace back over 200 years. But they say the island never leaves you, so our proud expatriate community brought Borinquen here. This is how I was taught one of our heritage’s highest priorities: family integrity.

It is my dad to whom I owe my career aspirations. Serving 21 years in the U.S. Army as a family practice physician, I was exposed to the selflessness and interconnectedness of medicine from an early age. Nothing grasped my attention more than the level of intimacy with the human condition that the doctor-patient relationship held. This is why I study Human Biology, with a focus in Social Aspects of Health & Disease, as well as pursue an interdisciplinary certificate in Ethics & Leadership in Health Care. Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry seem to call my name. I owe this calling to the two summers I spent working at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City, where I saw men and women, at all hours of the day, act out their ideals in miraculous ways. It is thanks to those doctors and patients that I have faith—in changing reality into “what should be.”

When speaking of family integrity I would be remiss to not include my friends. In my opinion, friends ARE family. Perhaps that’s the only child in me yearning for siblings. Oh well, all the better! That just means more love to go around! It’s true what they say: you are the average of all those you spend the most time with. I could not be more proud of who I am.

I’m thrilled to be a part of the Texas 4000 family.

Why I Ride

I ride for my best friend, Xavier, who is like an older brother to me. Xavier kept me on the right path throughout high school and still does to this day. Since I’ve known him, his immediate and extended family have accepted me as one of their own, inviting me to special family gatherings and teaching me the strongest values of their Guyanese culture. I sought his parents’ counsel when I wasn’t willing to hear it from my own. Then one day, about a year ago, his mother was diagnosed with Stage 3 multiple myeloma; 2 weeks later his father died from a sudden stroke.

It seemed unfathomable. In a matter of weeks my beloved friend’s life was completely torn apart. We were the same age, yet he mustered up the courage to be stronger than I thought possible. He set aside his pain to lift the spirits of the hurting loved ones around him.

And I could do nothing to help. I stood by him, but I’ve never been angrier at the world. Everything seemed cruel and unfair. I felt like I wasn’t a good enough friend. The frustration built, and I figured there was nothing I, or anyone, could do. “That’s just life; c’est la vie.” I felt defeated.

That is, until I found Texas 4000, until I found 80 students like myself who were simply not going to accept that there was nothing to be done. I knew this was how I could show Xavier and his family that I would support them through every mile of this long journey, through every impossible hill. This is how I could show how much his dad meant to me. Xavier and his mother are the strongest people I’ve ever met; their indomitable spirit is what will get me to Alaska.

I ride to share Xavier’s strength with those currently or who have ever been in that dark tunnel.

I also ride for my own father. Throughout this process I was reminded that he lost my grandfather to bladder cancer at the same age Xavier did. This experience helped me understand my dad more, which gave me hope that my friend was going to be okay.

I ride so that no child has to wonder what his or her grandfather was like. I ride so that no child has to wish they could hear for themselves, their father’s approval once more. I ride so that no child has to experience life’s greatest joys and sorrows without their mother by their side. I ride to remind ourselves that we are all children at heart.

I ride to preserve family integrity.

And I ride for each of you who have been affected by cancer. I ride in your name.