Dr. Jerry Arellano ’96 with Wilmer Fong ’49, a patient who years earlier had served on the selection committee for Arellano’s scholarship.
When a heart beats abnormally, a pacemaker may be implanted that can set it on the right path. Jerry Arellano’s path might have skipped a few beats had he not been able to pursue a college degree.
Raised in the Bay Area by a single mother from Nicaragua, Arellano and his family lived on the edge of poverty. Despite their misfortunes, he excelled in high school. “I was just waiting for the opportunity,” he says, holding back tears, “and, quite frankly, the opportunity was a Berkeley scholarship.”
Arellano graduated from Berkeley in 1996 with a degree in molecular and cell biology. He went on to pursue an M.D., training and practicing outside of California for nine years before returning for his dream job — as a cardiologist at Kaiser Permanente. He specializes in implanting devices that restore and create normal heartbeats and rhythms.
One day Arellano greeted an unexpected patient — Wilmer Fong ’49, a retired teacher and YMCA director who, years earlier, had served on the selection committee for Arellano’s scholarship. Fong had found his name on a list of doctors.
“I thought, ‘Hey, this name is familiar! What a small world,’” says Fong. “I have a serious illness. Jerry is saving my life.”
The opportunity Fong helped bring to Arellano is being returned immeasurably toward a longer, better life. Whether through supporting scholarships or giving back, however coincidentally, to those who supported you, both men have kept the gift of a Berkeley education close to their hearts.
