Junior Daniel J. Gonzales was one of 27 recipients of a 2024 Student Peace Award of Fairfax County honored at a reception on March 10. Rep. Gerry Connolly introduced a Resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives, introducing all recipients and recognizing them as “active in promoting peace or removing the causes of conflict.”
The mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, in Uvalde, TX occurred on May 24, 2022. Nineteen students and two teachers were killed, and 17 others were injured. Within ten days, Daniel organized a school-wide walk out at his high school mourning those killed in Uvalde and calling for gun safety legislation.
“I am constantly working to educate myself and others on important issues affecting our generation,” Gonzales said. However, he noted that this initiative in his freshman year was the first time he participated in a significant peacemaking action.
Gonzales felt called to organize this peaceful protest of his peers at Lewis High School in response to the national epidemic of gun violence and the mass shooting in Uvalde.
“Gun violence has been a constant national headline over the years, and the mental images stayed in the back of my mind. After living through multiple school shootings in my lifetime – with gun violence as the leading cause of death for young people in our country – and then with the graphic imagery from Robb Elementary School, I felt that ‘enough is enough.’ I met with several fellow students, and we agreed that we had to let our community and lawmakers know that the very-real prospect of gun violence makes students fearful,” Gonzales said.
After discussions with classmates, Gonzales met with teachers and administrators at his high school to help them design a walk out to help educate others on the seriousness of gun violence and possible solutions. Gonzales was pleased that the walk out succeeded in raising awareness of the most salient issues of gun violence and the constructive actions students can take to achieve greater gun safety.
A year later, on Friday, June 2, 2023 – National Gun Violence Awareness Day – Vice President Kamala Harris addressed the Lewis community to discuss the Biden-Harris Administration’s plans to limit gun violence. As part of her speech, she applauded Gonzales and his fellow students at Lewis for using their voices for change with their walk out a year earlier.
Gonzales plans to start a Lewis H.S. chapter of Students Demand Action to provide opportunities for himself and his peers – now and in the future – to stay involved in the gun violence prevention movement.
“This walkout showed me that I have a voice, and I can choose to use it throughout my life to bring about change,” Gonzales said.
As an aspiring attorney, he is looking forward to a rigorous undergraduate liberal arts program that prepares him best for law school. He hopes to become an effective advocate for those persons who often cannot obtain justice for civil, administrative, or criminal justice problems.
